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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIR 









V 
































PRINCIPLES OF 
OCIAL SCIENCE 


A Survey of Problems in 
American Democracy 


BY 


THAMES ROSS WILLIAMSON 


II 

FORMERLY ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS AND SOCIOLOGY, 
SMITH COLLEGE 


AND 


EDGAR BRUCE WESLEY 


HEAD OF SOCIAL STUDIES, UNIVERSITY HIGH SCHOOL 
AND ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION, 
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA 


Problems are the growing pains of civilization , offering 
opportunities for personal achievement and pointing 
the way to national progress. 


D. C. HEATH AND COMPANY 


BOSTON 

ATLANTA 


NEW YORK 
SAN FRANCISCO 
LONDON 


CHICAGO 

DALLAS 


m 



Copyright, 1932 , by 
Thames Ross Williamson 
and Edgar B. Wesley 


No part of the material covered by this 
copyright may be reproduced in any form 
without written permission of the publisher. 


3 P 2 


PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 


AUG 



©CIA 54528 





To 

Two Young Americans 


MEDFORD AND PHYLLIS 


’ 

' 

■ 


















































































































f 









































































































PREFACE 


Courses in problems for senior high school students have 
become increasingly popular since 1916, when the National 
Education Association recommended the study of “actual 
problems, issues, or conditions as they occur in life.” 

This proposal was received with both approval and dis¬ 
approval. Some interpreted it as an invitation to destroy 
the integrity of the traditional subjects; others, in view of 
the lack of suitable materials, regarded the proposal, however 
desirable in itself, as only a chimerical scheme; still others 
feared that it would lead to the fruitless discussion of complex 
issues by immature and uninformed students. 

Those who objected to a problems course frequently pursued 
the following chain of thought: “There is no single, inclu¬ 
sive social science; there are social studies . Since there is 
no recognized subject known as social science, there can be no 
scientific method applicable to all the social studies; con¬ 
sequently there can be no such product as a fused course in 
the social studies.” 

This chain of reasoning, whether sound or not, does not 
concern the desirability of a problems course. We are not 
here interested in the speculative question of whether the 
social studies can be or should be fused into a single subject. 
A course in problems for high school students does not under¬ 
take to fuse them; instead, it recognizes the distinctions 
among them. The distinguishing feature of such a course 
is the application of what is known in the various subjects 
to a number of selected problems. It is not a fusing or merg¬ 
ing of the social studies but a utilization of them. This 
viewpoint may be illustrated by a quotation from Ogburn 
and Goldenweiser, Social Sciences and their Interrelations: 
“The social sciences, moreover, are not merely theoretical 


vi 


PREFACE 


disciplines but also tools to be employed in the solution of 
the concrete practical problems of an existing and developing 
society.” 

The second objection, that there were not suitable materials 
for a problems course, was for several years justified. Since 
then, however, several attempts to provide suitable materials 
have been made. Some of these attempts were avowed 
efforts to fuse the social studies, to erase subject matter 
boundaries; others were primarily collections of conventional 
facts about economics, sociology, and government; still 
others consisted of surveys of institutions, followed by a 
section on problems. The present offering, Principles of 
Social Science, A Survey of Problems in American Democracy, 
differs somewhat in its viewpoint from all of these in that it 
employs the problem approach throughout. 

Part I defines, classifies, and illustrates problems. It pre¬ 
pares the student for the problem approach. Parts II, III, 
and IV consist of problems which fall primarily within the 
fields, respectively, of economics, sociology, and government. 
Trained in the technique of problem-solving within each of 
these fields, the student is then prepared for Part V, which 
consists of problems which are double or treble in nature. 
The principle involved in the construction of Part V is well 
illustrated by a quotation from Professor Charles E. Merriam: 
“In dealing with basic problems such as those of the punish¬ 
ment and prevention of crime, alcoholism, the vexed question 
of human migration, the relations of the negro, and a wide 
variety of industrial and agricultural problems, it becomes 
evident that neither the facts and the technique of economics 
alone, nor of politics alone, nor of history alone, are adequate, 
to their analysis and interpretation.” {American Political 
Science Review, XX, 8.) The “analysis and interpretation” 
of such complicated problems can be made only after the 
student has studied the simpler problems which fall primarily 
within the various subject matter fields. 

A third objection that was raised to the problems course, 
namely, that the study of “problems” might lead only to 


PREFACE 


vii 

fruitless or even harmful discussion, had some justification. 
This objection arose from the failure to define the word 
problem. There are problems and problems. Do we propose 
to ask high school students to solve problems which have 
baffled the human race for generations? When mature 
people with all their abilities, scholarship, and experience 
have not solved them, it would, indeed, be worse than futile 
to present them to high school students with the expectation 
that they should solve them by mere discussion in the class¬ 
room. Students should study problems primarily for their own 
development , and not primarily for the good of society. In 
doing so, they are of course cultivating desirable habits and 
attitudes. From such development of the young person 
society may hope to profit, rather than from a premature 
attempt by him to shoulder the unsolved problems of society. 
In fact, many topics which are no longer problems for society 
are nevertheless problems for the student. Therefore, when 
we speak of problems for high school students, we mean, 
first of all, learning the answers to problems that society has 
already solved; secondly, learning the process by which the 
answer is to be found; and only thirdly, learning the materials 
and nature of unsolved problems. The failure to bear in mind 
that there are various kinds of problems for various groups 
has given rise to much misunderstanding. It is hoped that 
the treatment in Part I will clarify the use of the word 
problem and go far toward removing the misunderstanding 
which has gathered around it. 

To facilitate examination of the book, a few words should 
be said about the apparatus. At the close of each chapter is 
a section called “Activities and References,” which includes 
the following: (1) A list of “Significant Words and Phrases,” 
which will furnish material for vocabulary drills, the results 
of which will show the teacher how well the student is master¬ 
ing the contents and terminology of the social studies; 
(2) “Questions” for review and discussion; (3) “Problems,” 
which are stated specifically and for which a specific method 
is suggested. Other and perhaps better ones will occur to 


PREFACE 


viii 

many teachers, and such problems may supplement or re¬ 
place those given in the book; (4) “References,” which are 
primarily for the pupils, since teachers are trained in the 
bibliographies of college texts and reference books, and also 
have access to guides and to their professional magazine, 
The Historical Outlook (1021 Filbert St., Philadelphia). 
Many of the books cited, however, are distinctly useful for 
teachers as well as students. No chapter or page references 
are given in the citations, because the authors believe that 
pupils should, by the constant use of tables of contents and 
indexes, acquire skill in finding the relevant material. 

The Appendix includes (1) a glossary, which will serve 
as a convenient reference and as a basis for the review of 
the specialized words and phrases; (2) a bibliography of 
all books cited in the text; (3) the Constitution of the 
United States; and (4) the Covenant of the League of 
Nations. 

The teacher will recognize the desirability of the constant 
use of newspapers and magazines, for eternal vigilance is the 
price of keeping up in the social studies. 

The latest obtainable information and statistics have been 
used in this text. It is, therefore, a composite of the thoughts, 
efforts, and researches of many scholars. Even if space per¬ 
mitted, the authors would be unable to give credit to all of 
those to whom credit is due, but specific acknowledgments 
are made to those from whom we have consciously drawn 
assistance. Williamson’s Problems in American Democracy , 
originally published in 1922, was a pioneer in the field and 
received widespread approval and use. Much of that book, 
having stood the test of usage, has been incorporated into 
this volume. 

The reported needs and desires of teachers, whose experi¬ 
ence entitles them to a share in the construction of a book 
designed for use under their direction, have been heeded. 
Miss Hazel Fish, Dean of Girls, South St. Paul High School 
(South St. Paul, Minn.), furnished some of the graphs, sug¬ 
gested the inclusion of a glossary, and generously assisted 


PREFACE 


IX 


in numerous ways. Miss Miriam A. Compton, a graduate 
student at the University of Minnesota, and Mr. Benjamin 
Lundquist of the University of Minnesota High School, 
assisted in the preparation of the apparatus for some of the 
chapters. Mr. Roman Becker of the English Department of 
the University of Minnesota assisted in the construction of 
Part I and read critically some of the other chapters. In j ustice 
to those who have assisted, it should be said that they are 
in no wise responsible for any errors or shortcomings which 
time may reveal. 

Thames Ross Williamson 

Edgar Bruce Wesley 

















CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAGE 

PART I. THE APPROACH TO PROBLEMS . . 1 

I. Problems and Problems. 3 

II. The Meaning of Civilized Society. 16 

III. The Social Sciences. 32 

PART II. AMERICAN ECONOMIC PROBLEMS . 39 

IV. Nature of American Industry. 41 

V. The Consumption of Goods. 49 

VI. Producing Goods. 57 

VII. Conservation of Natural Resources . 65 

VIII. Problems of Labor. 76 

IX. Bases of the Capitalistic System. 98 

X. Sharing the Products of Industry.107 

XL Exchanging the Products of Industry.114 

XII. Banking and Credit.120 

XIII. A Program of Industrial Reform.136 

XIV. Profit Sharing and Cooperation.148 

XV. Proposed Reforms.157 

PART III. AMERICAN SOCIAL PROBLEMS . . 175 

XVI. Population.177 

XVII. The Family.184 

XVIII. The School.198 

XIX. Rural Life.213 

XX. The Negro.226 

XXL Dependency.236 


XI 























xii CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XXII. Defectives.249 

XXIII. Public Opinion.259 

PART IV. AMERICAN POLITICAL PROBLEMS . 271 

XXIV. The Federal Government.273 

XXV. State Government.303 

XXVI. Municipal and Local Government.326 

XXVII. Who Shall Share in Government?.335 

XXVIII. The Political Party.344 

XXIX. Elections.355 

XXX. Honesty and Efficiency in Office.366 

XXXI. Direct Democracy.376 

PART V. GENERAL PROBLEMS.385 

XXXII. Immigration.387 

XXXIII. Crime.399 

XXXIV. Government and Business.412 

XXXV. Taxation.429 

XXXVI. The Tariff.442 

XXXVII. International Relations .453 

Appendix.473 

Glossary.475 

Bibliography.517 

The Constitution.521 

Covenant of the League of Nations.535 


Index 


. 545 
























LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

The Law of Diminishing Utility. 49 

Knitting Silk Stockings. facing 58 

Making Cotton Gauze. facing 59 

Rank Order of Manufacturing States. 59 

Federal Reserve Districts.128 

Federal Farm Loan System.131 

The New York Stock Exchange. facing 132 

Banking Room in a Large Bank. facing 133 

Children Under Five Years of Age, 1890-1930 . 200 

Main Reading Room in the New York Public Library facing 208 
A Class of Boys in a School Nature League Room . facing 209 

A Veterinarian Inspecting Dairy Cows. facing 218 

A Modern Way of Cultivating Corn. facing 219 

A Summer Camp for Girl Scouts. facing 242 

Medical Examination of Children. facing 243 

Key to Mendel’s Law.252 

Mendel’s Law.253 

Apportionment of Representatives in Congress, 1930 . . . 290 

Congressional Districts.291 

The United States Supreme Court . facing 294 

The House of Representatives. facing 295 

A Bill Becomes a Law.295 

Federal Circuit Court Districts of the United States . . 297 

Vermont State Capitol. facing 314 

A Court in Session . .. facing 315 

Our System of Courts.319 

Turbine Hall of the Conowingo Hydro-electric Plant 
in Maryland. facing 414 

Transporting Electric Power. facing 415 

xiii 















































PART I 

THE APPROACH TO PROBLEMS 


“The beginning is everything. ” 

— Old Greek saying. 


This book undertakes to answer questions about 
the world in which we live. Some of these are the 
questions of everyday people about the everyday 
mechanism of man’s dealing with man: What is a 
contract? a promissory note? a trust company? a 
direct primary? Some of the questions are those of 
more curious people about the scientific meanings of 
everyday things: What is price? value? wealth? 
good? demand? Still other questions concern man’s 
inhumanity to man: What is crime? dependency? 
sabotage? a yellow-dog contract? Finally, some of 
the questions are about the vast, sometimes futile, 
proposals for the reform of society: What is bolshe¬ 
vism? socialism? anarchism? These are samples of 
the numerous questions treated in this book. 

When we ask such questions, sometimes we are 
merely curious. We want to know what people mean 
by some of the words they use; or we want to know 
“how the other half lives”; or we want ideas that 
puzzle us clarified by simple, authoritative explana¬ 
tions. At other times we ask such questions because 
we have a part in this world which we wish to play 
with credit, and we know that to do so we need in¬ 
formation, and training in the use of it. 

This book is designed to give the student informa¬ 
tion that he seeks and opportunities to train himself 
in the use of it. In the performance of this important 
task, the beginning is extremely important. Success 
depends upon our beginning with a clear-cut idea of 
what we are trying to do, of how we are going to do 
it, and of the materials and tools with which we must 
work. 


CHAPTER I 


PROBLEMS AND PROBLEMS 

A. About Problems in General 

When do we have a problem? — Every high school student 
knows what a problem is. He has no doubt worked many and 
has tried to work others. Let us see if we recognize a prob¬ 
lem when one confronts us. “A postman delivers mail to 
twenty families in each of twenty blocks.” Does that sen¬ 
tence present a problem? Quite obviously, in its present 
form it does not; it is a mere statement of fact. Suppose we 
change the sentence thus: “If a postman delivers mail to 
twenty families in each of twenty blocks, how many families 
does he serve?” Now, obviously, we have a problem. We 
have a problem, then, when we have a question proposed for 
solution or answer. 

The variety and extent of problems. — You will naturally 
say that the problem we have just given is very simple. The 
terms or quantities with which you must deal are “twenty 
blocks” and “twenty families”; the answer or solution you 
seek will be reached by simply using the process of multipli¬ 
cation. In other words, the terms of your problem are 
definite and known, and the process that you must apply to 
reach the correct answer is also definite and known. The 
simplest problems are like this one in elementary arithmetic, 
in which a known process, like addition or factoring, is 
applied to known quantities to find some unknown fact. 

Not all problems, however, are so simple. Even in arith¬ 
metic one may not know what process to use. In that case 
the problem is more complex because it involves two steps: 
first finding the right process to use, and then applying it. 

Problems in science raise other difficulties. For example, 
3 


4 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


what will be the product when two parts of hydrogen are 
united to one part of oxygen? By experimentation we know 
the answer. Suppose that a person, after swallowing a few 
grains of an unknown substance, becomes violently ill. In 
order to treat the patient properly, the doctor needs to know 
the nature of the substance. Here, then, is a problem for the 
chemist. 

We are daily confronted with problems even more puz¬ 
zling to work out. How shall I spend my study period? 
How can I find a job? How can I safely invest my savings 
at a good interest rate? How can the student senate secure 
the cooperation of the student body? How can the legisla¬ 
ture raise in a fair manner the money necessary for running 
the government? These are just a few problems which con¬ 
front students and grown-up citizens. These problems are 
far less simple than the one with which we began. In them 
the terms are not given, and the correct processes for their 
solution are not even indicated. Whether we know how to 
solve such problems or not, we are forced to try. Our success 
in life depends upon our ability to solve problems. Prob¬ 
lems, then, are of all degrees of difficulty, are found in every 
range of life, and call for solution. 

How is a problem solved? — To solve a simple problem, one 
has merely to select the terms and apply the right process 
correctly. To solve troublesome problems like those of hu¬ 
man relationships, however, at least three steps are necessary 
— the discovery of the facts (the “terms” of our problem), 
the selection of the correct process, and the application of this 
process to the situation. Each of these steps may be very 
difficult and may require the efforts of many persons through¬ 
out many generations. Let us look at several examples of 
such problems. 

Some problems are difficult because their terms are un¬ 
known and the process or processes necessary for their solu¬ 
tion remain undiscovered. Such a problem is provided by 
the many criminals who prey upon society. To deal with 
this problem efficiently, we need to know the causes of crime. 


PROBLEMS AND PROBLEMS 


5 


The causes of crime are so numerous that we are reasonably 
safe in asserting that no one will find the cause of crime. 
Since the causes are so numerous, the cures will have to be 
numerous. We can solve the problem, perhaps, by selecting 
one factor which operates among the causes and treating it 
separately. For example, if poverty is one cause of crime, 
we can make efforts to remove that condition. We shall 
then have our problem put into definite terms, and know 
what kind of processes we have to find for its solution. But 
we shall soon realize that poverty itself is exceedingly com¬ 
plex and that in dealing with it we are facing another prob¬ 
lem whose solution will in turn require all the steps of the 
original problem. Nevertheless, this method of analysis and 
specific treatment offers the only promising solution of funda¬ 
mental human problems. 

One is sometimes aware of a problem about which he knows 
a great deal but does not understand either the terms or the 
process by which it may be solved. For example, there is 
the problem of international peace. Many of the factors 
which disrupt the peace of the world are known, and many 
promising solutions have been offered, but we are still faced 
with the problem. We shall find the solution of it only 
when we get it stated in definite terms and understand what 
process or processes to apply in solving it. 

A problem may be almost a puzzle. In that case, its solu¬ 
tion may require resourcefulness, ingenuity, and concentra¬ 
tion to discover the relevant facts. Years ago young people 
used to play a game called “If you can’t do this you can’t 
do nothing.” We shall not stop to examine the correctness 
of the expression, but shall proceed to watch the game. The 
best situation in which to play was one in which several 
knew the game and several did not. A circle of friends passed 
a cane from person to person. While each one had the cane 
in his hand he tapped the floor and gazed intently at the 
cane as he said, “If you can’t do this you can’t do nothing.” 
He then passed the cane to the next person. Those who 
understood the game knew that the whole point was to re- 


6 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


ceive the cane with one hand and pass it with the other. The 
tapping and pronouncing of the formula had nothing to do 
with the point of the game. Those who did not know the 
game would try to see if the cane hit the floor with each 
word, between words, or after alternate words. The knowing 
ones derived much merriment and enjoyed the puzzled atten¬ 
tion of those who did not know the game. The amusing 
point was the fact that they observed the unimportant and 
irrelevant tapping and overlooked the essential receiving and 
passing of the cane. 

Unless one is keenly alert to the essential parts of a prob¬ 
lem, he may overlook the relevant facts. It is not always 
easy or even possible to know beforehand what is relevant; 
so it is highly probable that every one gathers some facts 
for which he has no appreciable use. The more puzzlesome 
the problem that confronts him, the more irrelevant facts 
will he collect before he reaches the relevant ones. 

Let us now summarize the principles that have been 
brought out by the foregoing discussion. In solving a prob¬ 
lem, one must know the facts or terms. If these facts are 
not given, the problem-solver must secure them. Having 
got the facts, he must study them until he understands their 
nature and interrelationships. He must know that his facts 
bear upon the problem, that they are pertinent to its solu¬ 
tion. He must then select the process to be used. If he does 
not know the process, he must do some more research and 
learn, perhaps by trial and error, what process will work. 
Thus the solving of a complex problem, especially one involv¬ 
ing human relationships, is no easy task, and those who are 
best informed are most likely to be cautious. 

The two kinds of problems. — From the standpoint of the 
human race, problems fall into two groups — solved and 
unsolved. 

Let us consider some solved problems. We know how to 
produce electricity. We know the cause of yellow fever. We 
know approximately how many people live in Cincinnati. 
Of course, some people may not have this information in 


PROBLEMS AND PROBLEMS 


7 


mind, but the information is available. Thus the human race 
is not facing the problem of how to produce electricity. The 
process is known, and anyone who cares to learn it can easily 
find the required information in a variety of books or can 
learn it from a great number of informed people. This is 
only one instance. The answer to thousands of problems 
will occur to any thoughtful and well-informed person who 
takes the time to consider them. Indeed, the human race 
has collected an enormous stock of facts, of answers to prob¬ 
lems. In terms of problems, let us say that many, many 
“answer books” are available. In fact, there are so many 
answer books that finding and selecting the right one be¬ 
comes a problem in itself, but let us now consider some 
unsolved problems. 

The unsolved problems are those for which there are no 
answer books. There are many such problems, even in an 
exact subject like mathematics. The number is much larger 
in mechanics and medicine, but perhaps the field in which 
there is the greatest number of unsolved problems is that of 
human relationships. How can the unemployed be em¬ 
ployed? How can international peace be assured? What is 
the fairest kind of tax? How can crime be lessened? How 
can the best man secure office? Should our state adopt 
unemployment insurance? These are a few samples of a 
great number of unsolved problems. They are difficult be¬ 
cause they involve people. Numbers are constant. An 8 is 
always the same easily-recognized figure. We can rely upon 
8, but no two people are alike and no individual is the same 
year after year. The problems involving 8 can be standard¬ 
ized, but since people are inconstant, no absolute rule about 
them can be formulated. German cities work out an excellent 
system of city government. Can the same system be used 
by the French cities? Student government has been quite 
successful in the high school at Nymzwick. Should it be 
adopted by the high school at Esteville? 

Such questions are difficult. They are peculiarly difficult 
because of the shifting and uncertain factors of human na- 


8 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


ture. Perhaps French citizens would not understand how to 
make the German system effective. Perhaps the boys and 
girls at Esteville are unprepared for and indifferent to student 
government. 

There are no “answer books” to provide us our solutions 
for such problems. Whenever they occur, they are neces¬ 
sarily unsolved problems for which answers must be worked 
out by people who have learned how to get at the relevant 
facts and find correct processes of working with them. 

B. About Problems for the Student 

Why do we have problems in our school work? — The 
young student, like everyone else, has his special group of 
problems. The school is organized primarily to help him 
to discover what these are, to formulate them, and to solve 
them. Let us make sure we understand why we have prob¬ 
lems in our school work. 

The school program is designed primarily for the develop¬ 
ment of the pupils. This program provides problems for 
study because in solving them the pupils will acquire knowl¬ 
edge and develop their powers of thought. Let us be clear 
on this point. As pupils, we are not expected to solve prob¬ 
lems which have baffled the human race for generations. 
When grown-up people, with all their ability, scholarship, 
and experience, have not solved such problems, it would 
be futile to present them to us with the expectation that 
we should solve them by mere discussion in the classroom. 
Therefore, those who suggest, hope, or fear that in the school 
we shall direct our efforts toward the solution of society’s 
unsolved problems misunderstand our purpose; they are in 
error as to whose interests are paramount in the school. 
As pupils, our problems come first, and we study them 
primarily for our own development, and not primarily for 
the good of society. In doing so, we cultivate the habit of 
securing information before forming opinions, and we develop 
the qualities of industry, alertness, open-mindedness, and 


PROBLEMS AND PROBLEMS 


9 


resourcefulness. These habits and qualities will indeed make 
of us the able and willing problem-solvers we shall need to 
be in later years when the direction of public affairs falls into 
our hands. Meanwhile, however, in our school we are not 
trying to solve tomorrow’s problems; we are not merely 
preparing for the days to come. We are of course doing that, 
but also we are already taking part in life because we have 
problems of our own for which we seek the answers. What 
are some of those problems, and how have we come to have 
them? 

Problems from solved problems. — The student has inherited 
the achievements of countless generations. Naturally, it is 
to his interest to know his inheritance, its nature and extent. 
His first problem, then, is to learn the answers to problems 
which the human race has already solved. Many of his 
problems, therefore, are no longer the problems of society; 
but they are his until he knows the answers. 

The reasonableness of this requirement is obvious. The 
secluded genius who would labor to invent a self-propelling 
vehicle would be regarded as utterly ignorant, utterly fool¬ 
ish. Why did he not come forth and learn that the auto¬ 
mobile is already in existence? Why should he waste his 
efforts in trying to solve a problem which has already been 
solved? The fii^t business of the student, then, is to learn 
what has been accomplished. 

Solved problems also provide the student another of his 
problems. Take the problem, What is the population of 
Ohio? The correct answer is available, and the census expert 
can probably recall it from memory. But finding the num¬ 
ber of people in Ohio may be a problem for the student. He 
either knows or does not know where to find the information. 
If he knows where to look, the problem is very simple indeed. 
He has merely to use a book in which the census returns are 
given. Many of the problems of the student are of this 
nature; they involve the finding of information which has 
already been gathered. To solve a problem which has al¬ 
ready been solved involves the simple process of using the 


10 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


answer book. Naturally, he cannot and does not need to 
remember all of the answers, but he must learn how to find 
the answers when he needs them. 

The existence of solved problems, then, of “answers,’’ 
gives the student two of his problems — learning some an¬ 
swers and learning how to find answers that already exist. 

Problems from unsolved problems. — We have already 
noted that society as a whole has many unsolved problems 
which remain as challenges to the whole human race. We 
have remarked that these are not primarily the concern of 
the pupil. He has problems of his own. Further, he is not 
yet equipped with the information and mental skill to 
solve such problems, and he should not cultivate the habit 
of jumping at conclusions as the result of haphazard dis¬ 
cussion. 

Has the young student, then, no concern at all with so¬ 
ciety’s unsolved problems? He certainly has, for these are 
also part of his inheritance. They lie everywhere about him. 
Doubtless he has already run upon some of them; for in¬ 
stance, though he may not know that automobile accidents 
resulted in 1930 in the deaths of 33,000 persons, he is aware 
that each year many useful lives are snuffed out or ruined 
by such accidents and that how to prevent this waste of life 
is a problem calling upon society for solution. As he grows 
older he will be expected to take part in solving such prob¬ 
lems and others even more troublesome and more vital to 
human welfare. He should, therefore, begin now to learn 
what are the problems and wherein they are problems. In 
so far as the terms or relevant facts have been discovered, 
he should be learning them. In so far as human endeavor 
has perfected the equipment whereby the facts bearing upon 
any social problem may be collected and interpreted, he 
should be learning something about that equipment. Fi¬ 
nally, he can perhaps also learn what some of the proposed 
solutions have been and wherein they have been found in¬ 
adequate. In proportion as he is learning all these things, 
he is entering upon his social heritage, and, as we have said, 


PROBLEMS AND PROBLEMS 


11 


his chief business as a student is to enter upon the heritage 
that is his from a long past of problem-solving. 

Some of the student’s problems, then, are provided by his 
entrance upon an inheritance of unsolved problems. 

The problem of problem-solving. — In view of what we 
have already said about the variety, extent, persistence, and 
urgency of problems in the life of all mankind, it is not neces¬ 
sary to dwell long upon the importance of the process of 
problem-solving. One of a student’s problems is obviously 
to skill himself in that process. He can develop himself and 
enter upon his heritage of human achievement only in pro¬ 
portion as he does so. 

How is the process of problem-solving to be learned? 
Not in one day, but slowly, through the years, as the result 
of habitual thinking and habitual conduct. In part, the way 
a student approaches his studies will develop him in the 
process of problem-solving. Thus, when he hunts for the 
answers to solved problems, he should aim not merely to 
learn the answer, hut also to see the answer as the solution of a 
problem or the answer to a question . When he studies one of 
society’s unsolved problems, he should not be content merely 
to collect interesting bits of unrelated information or a num¬ 
ber of opinions about what ought to be done. He should, 
instead, try to learn wherein the available, relevant facts 
present a problem or question, and he should learn wherein 
proposed solutions either answer or do not answer the prob¬ 
lem or question that the facts raise in a thoughtful mind. 

Furthermore, when the student has a personal problem in 
his daily life to meet, he should not act merely upon impulse, 
but should treat the situation as a problem. He should col¬ 
lect all that is known about the problem. He should study 
and analyze the knowledge he has collected until he can 
formulate the situation in terms of a problem. Any solution 
he proposes should be based upon information and thought; 
as Confucius used to say, thinking without information is 
dangerous. A tentative solution can be tried out. The 
results must in turn be studied and analyzed. In other 


12 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


words, the answer must be checked just as one checks solu¬ 
tions in arithmetic. What seems to be the correct answer 
may turn out to be incorrect. Constant experimentation is 
necessary, and by experimentation we learn not only the 
right answer but also how to reach right answers in similar 
situations. 

These are the ways one learns to solve problems, and to 
learn that process is one of the fundamental problems of the 
student. 

C. About “Problems in American Democracy” 

This book treats of only one group of problems. Let us 
make sure we know what they are. 

Do we mean only “governmental” problems? — Note that 
the sub-title of this book indicates not “Problems of Ameri¬ 
can Democracy,” but “Problems in American Democracy.” 
That little word “in” is important. It indicates that we are 
not concerned only with such problems as arise from the 
attempt to make our government work. We are not in this 
book concerned only with such questions as, How shall we. 
improve our system of elections? How shall we improve the 
government of our cities? and How shall we keep the federal 
government from swallowing up the state governments? It 
is a serious error to think of all our problems as official, 
national, or governmental problems. Most of our problems 
are, in fact, the problems of people trying to live together. 
When people live and act together, many adjustments are 
necessary, and each adjustment is a problem for some or all 
the members of the group. 

The members of a family, for example, are not free to do 
as they please. Each one must alter his plans and desires 
for the convenience of the others. The dinner hour is set, 
and each must, for the sake of others, adjust his plans in 
order to be present at the appointed time. All life in groups, 
large or small, involves many such adjustments. Life in a 
society, in other words, involves the suppression of many 


PROBLEMS AND PROBLEMS 


13 


selfish desires and natural impulses. But all people are not 
willing to surrender their desires even for the benefit of the 
group. Not all groups are willing to surrender their interests 
for the sake of the larger group known as society. In many 
instances, no one knows what is best for society. It is some¬ 
times impossible, for example, to say just when a person’s 
own interests conflict with those of society. Even if every 
person had the best of intentions and the most willing spirit, 
there would still be many problems. Thus organized group 
life inevitably brings on many problems. 

Most of our problems, then, are human and not govern¬ 
mental problems. With the solution of most problems, the 
government has little or nothing to do. In fact, it does not 
deserve the credit for the solution of all those which have 
been solved; neither does it deserve the blame for all the 
unsolved ones. We are concerned in this book with human 
problems , the problems of social relationship, of living in a 
civilized society. Sometimes the government enters our 
problems, oftener it does not. We are to study problems 
that confront people living in the United States, that is, 
in the American democracy. 

Why do we use the term “American Democracy”? — The 
phrase “American Democracy” is used to include all the 
interests and activities of the American people. “Democ¬ 
racy” indicates here not only our ideal in government, but 
also our ideal of a society so constructed as to provide the 
fullest possible opportunities for a complete life for all our 
citizens, both as individuals and as members of society. 

The young person growing into membership in such a 
society has many problems that are his, rather than society’s; 
later, he will have to help that society to solve many prob¬ 
lems that are peculiar to itself because of the ideal of life it 
has set. With both kinds of problems we are concerned in 
this book, and the term “American Democracy” includes 
them both. 

We are also concerned with other problems of society that 
are not peculiar to America, problems that exist wherever 


14 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


man lives in a civilized society. Such problems, which are 
general rather than specifically American, are best appreci¬ 
ated when first stated in terms of our own country, in terms 
of the environment that we most concretely know. The 
phrase “American Democracy,” therefore, also signifies that 
even general social problems are in this book approached 
from the standpoint of life in the United States in our 
time. 

Finally, we use the phrase “American Democracy,” and 
especially the word “Democracy,” to indicate that the solu¬ 
tions we look for in this book will be solutions made in the 
light of the American democratical ideal of full opportunities 
for a complete life for all our citizens. 

Our problems in brief. — We are concerned in this book 
with problems. In the first place, we are not trying merely 
to learn other people’s answers to problems; we are trying 
to think of those answers as solutions to problems. Second, 
we shall try to get some notion of problems that remain to 
challenge mankind, even though we ourselves will not yet 
decide upon an answer. Third, we shall try to cultivate 
skill in problem-solving, in seeing situations as problems and 
in handling them as problems should be handled. 

The problems with which we are concerned are those which 
confront people living in the American Democracy in our 
time. By “people” we mean ourselves as well as others, 
young as well as old. These problems will be essentially the 
problems of man living in a civilized society. Before under¬ 
taking the study of specific problems, we shall, therefore, in 
Chapter II, try to conceive rather definitely the significance 
of the phrase, “man living in a civilized society.” 

Activities 

Significant Words and Phrases 

Problem, experimentation, process, human relationships, human problems, 
analysis, interrelationships, trial and error, human achievements, attitudes, 
open-mindedness. 


PROBLEMS AND PROBLEMS 


15 


Questions 

1. Name the essential elements of a problem. 

2. Name four processes used in arithmetic. 

3. How does the solution of a problem in arithmetic differ from the 

solution of one in chemistry? 

4. What are the three steps in the solution of a human problem? 

5. Why is the problem of crime so difficult? 

6. Why was it difficult for a person to catch onto the game “If you can’t 

do this you can’t do nothing”? 

7. Name one relevant fact about the problem of international peace. 

8. Into what two great classes are problems divided? 

9. Mention some solved problems. In what sense may they still be 

regarded as problems for the student? 

10. What do the authors mean by “answer books”? 

11. In what field are there a great number of unsolved problems? 

12. How does the solution of a problem in arithmetic differ from the 

solution of a problem in human relationships? 

13. What is meant by “taking stock of human achievement”? 

14. What is the student’s obligation in dealing with solved problems? 

With unsolved problems? 

15. Can you cite an instance from your own experience of “thinking with¬ 

out information”? 

16. What is a tentative solution? 

17. Since students are not expected to solve the great problems of human¬ 

ity, why should they study them? 

18. Comment upon the significance of the title of this book. 


Problems 

1. Problem: To learn the formal statement of a problem. Method: Make 
a one-sentence statement of a problem suggested by each of the fol¬ 
lowing words: (1) crime, (2) immigration, (3) marketing, (4) education. 

2. Problem: To appreciate the immense number of solved problems. 
Method: List only the suggestions which you can get by looking 
around your classroom. There was once the problem of lighting, of 
ventilation, of writing material, etc. A good list should contain 
twenty solved problems. 

3. Problem: To appreciate the difficulty of solving a human problem. 
Method: Consider one effort which has been made to solve the problem 
of marketing farm products. (Other problems may be substituted.) 
Where was it tried? To what extent did it succeed? Why was it not 
universally adopted? 


CHAPTER II 


THE MEANING OF CIVILIZED SOCIETY 

Why must man be a problem-solver? — What has man 
been doing, for thousands of years, to build for himself a 
world of problems and problem-solving? We may answer, 
briefly, that he has been constructing a civilized society. 
We may also put the answer as follows: Through long ages 
man has been gradually doing away with the merely natural 
environment that he inherited, and, in its stead, he has tieen 
developing a network of surroundings that are complex, 
relatively new, constantly changing, and extremely depend¬ 
ent upon group life or the relation of man to man. Let us 
try to realize just what this means; let us watch man build¬ 
ing his own environment. 

A. The First Steps in Civilization 

The Stone Age. — Once, man stood in the face of nature, 
without tools, naked, hungry, weak, and afraid. Then he 
picked up and used as implements the stones he found lying 
about him. At first, he used the stones in their natural 
form. Later he realized the advantages of working them 
into convenient shapes. Little by little he learned to chip 
flint into the form of knives and arrowheads. In time, some 
unknown genius discovered the art of binding tools to pieces 
of wood, so that a long stick fastened to a stone tip became 
a spear. Another type of handle was fastened to a heavy 
round stone and became a hammer; and so on for other 
types of tools and weapons. Still later, man learned to grind 
and polish hard stone, and as a consequence was able to 
work such materials as granite and jade into a variety of 
forms. 


16 


THE MEANING OF CIVILIZED SOCIETY 


17 


The tools of this period may seem to us very crude, but 
they mark an extraordinary advance in human achievement. 
Man is, in the Stone Age, beginning his career as a maker of 
tools; he is beginning to free himself from direct dependence 
upon what nature bequeaths him; he is beginning to con¬ 
struct an environment specially designed to meet his wants 
of food, shelter, and clothing; he is learning human arts to 
teach his posterity so that they will begin one step farther 
up the ladder than he. 

The Age of Metals. — For long ages man had no better 
tools than those which he contrived to fashion out of stone, 
but at last he hit upon the art of making implements and 
weapons out of metal. 

Copper was probably the first metal which he used, because 
it is relatively soft and hence easy to pound and mould. We 
do not know who originated the use of copper utensils. Many 
authorities believe that the ancient inhabitants of the Nile 
valley are to be credited with this advance in civilization. 
At any rate, we know that both the Egyptians and the 
Babylonians were using copper at a very early time. 

Later on, some one discovered that when a small propor¬ 
tion of tin was added to the copper, a mixture resulted which 
was harder and would therefore keep an edge longer than 
tools made of copper alone. This mixture of copper and tin 
was called bronze, and its superiority over both stone and 
copper was so great that its use spread rapidly. 

About 1500 B.c. men began to make use of iron. This 
metal is more difficult to work than either copper or bronze, 
but in hardness and durability it is greatly superior to both. 
The discovery of the possibilities of iron therefore led to a 
gradual displacement of the use of copper and bronze, until 
within recent times the majority of our fundamental tools, 
implements, and weapons have been made of iron or iron 
compounds. 

The hunting and fishing stage. — As might be expected, 
this improvement in tool-making was accompanied by a 
general improvement in the manner of getting a living. At 


18 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


first, primitive man must have had to satisfy his hunger 
chiefly with nuts, roots, and wild berries, but with tools he 
increased his power over his environment. He learned to 
fashion hooks, nets, and boats, and with these he took fish 
from the water. With the spear, the club, and the bow and 
arrow he became truly a hunter, and was able to live at 
least partly by the fruits of the chase. So long as his weapons 
were crude, he probably pursued only the smaller, weaker 
beasts, but with better and better weapons at his command, 
it is natural to suppose, his courage expanded, until at length 
he made war upon the bear, the wild boar, and even the 
lordly elephant. Once he is an accomplished hunter and 
fisher, he no longer stands in the face of nature, without 
tools, naked, hungry, weak, and afraid. Instead, he is be¬ 
ginning to assume mastery of the other members of the 
animal kingdom, and is thereby re-creating his environment. 

The domestication of animals. — At some unknown date, 
the savage hunter began to see the advantages of animals 
that could be tamed and bred in captivity. Creatures 
wounded in the chase he began to take home and care for, 
and the young which fell into his traps he kept for pets. 
The dog was one of man’s early conquests, for we know from 
the skeletons found buried in the rocks that the people of 
the earlier Stone Age kept this animal about their camps. 
The cow also came under man’s control at an early date; the 
horse was in time domesticated; the goat, sheep, hog, and 
some wild fowl were also subdued by early man. By the 
close of prehistoric times in the Old World, nearly all of the 
tame animals of today were in a state of domestication. 

The pastoral age. — The domestication of animals greatly 
influenced the life of early peoples. Where conditions were 
favorable, and men were so inclined, the taming of cattle 
and sheep opened the way to a pastoral life in which these 
animals were cared for, protected, and allowed to reproduce 
their kind. From cattle man got milk and meat for food, 
and skins for clothing; from the sheep he got not only meat 
for food, but also wool and hides for clothing and other 


THE MEANING OF CIVILIZED SOCIETY 


19 


domestic manufactures. The domesticated dog now helped 
man protect the herds and flocks. Thus some primitive 
people found it profitable to abandon hunting and fishing 
and to become keepers of cattle and sheep. The condition 
of such people is often pitifully barren, but at least they are 
subduing nature to the needs of man. 

The domestication of plants. — Another important step 
in human achievement was the domestication of plants. 
Originally, many of the plants which now grow in our gar¬ 
dens and fields were wild. At some eventful stage, however, 
primitive man became aware of the fact that plants grow to 
maturity and develop seeds which fall upon the earth and in 
turn produce new plants. And then with that wonderful 
brain of his, he conceived the idea of directing this natural 
process toward his own benefit. By planting seed from the 
best species, he gradually improved them in size and quality, 
until after many centuries he ended by producing such val¬ 
uable crops as wheat, oats, barley, and rice. In this way 
there developed the rudiments of agriculture as we know it 
today. 

The beginnings of science. — Along with the improve¬ 
ments in making a living came the development of scientific 
knowledge. Counting is thought to have begun with cal¬ 
culations on one’s fingers, and reckoning was perhaps first 
carried on by means of small objects, such as pebbles, beans, 
or shells. From these humble beginnings were developed the 
numeral system, standard measures of length, capacity, and 
weight, and all the complexities of mathematics. The cal¬ 
culation of time led to invention of the calendar and to the 
science of astronomy. The observation of natural objects 
and phenomena encouraged such studies as magic, divina¬ 
tion, religion, and medicine. 

Man achieves a language! — During the thousands of 
years that it took man to accomplish the achievements we 
have just sketched, he was also developing a language of his 
own. None of his achievements has been more momentous 
than this one, none of them has helped more to take him 


20 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


farther and farther, as time goes on, from his natural en¬ 
vironment to one of his own invention. Language is a 
method of communicating thought and, to some extent, 
feeling. In this broad sense of the term, many animals and 
birds have language, since they make use of specific cries to 
indicate hunger, pleasure, alarm, or distress. But language 
of this type is very rudimentary, very limited in effectiveness. 
Man has worked out for himself a highly efficient series of 
sounds and signs which may be used to communicate numer¬ 
ous shadings of thought and feeling. Beginning, perhaps, 
with gestures and rude cries and grunts, human language has 
developed into an intricate system of spoken words on the 
one hand, and written words on the other. Conversation, 
the printed page such as this you are now reading, the 
phonograph, the radio, debates, commands, and explana¬ 
tions, all these are examples of the effective use man has made 
of language. 

Language has worked chiefly in two ways to help give man 
an environment of his own over which he has some mastery. 
In the first place, by means of language man has stolen a 
march on time. Language is our means of preserving and 
transmitting knowledge. The wise man dies, but his wisdom 
may live after him in the form of oral tradition, books, or 
scientific charts. The discoveries made by one generation 
are preserved and passed on to the next. It is chiefly on 
account of this storing-up process that the young people of 
each successive age are able to start life at a relatively high 
and efficient level. We of today are like architects that 
begin to build, not from the ground as a foundation, but 
from the tenth or twentieth story. What we as students 
may acquire in a month is often the fruit of many a lifetime 
of laborious thought and research that has been handed 
down and tested and improved from one age to another. 
Had man not developed a language to preserve the record 
of his achievements and transmit them to his successors, 
each generation would have had to begin all over again the 
ascent from savagery to civilization. 


THE MEANING OF CIVILIZED SOCIETY 


21 


In the second place, language aids man to construct and 
maintain an elaborate environment of his own because lan¬ 
guage provides an effective means of cooperation . The rich and 
intricate group life that we know today simply could not 
exist without language. Group life requires cooperation, and 
cooperation is essentially a matter of dividing labor and 
directing it toward*a common end. Without language, we 
could not make ourselves sufficiently understood to agree 
upon an effective division of labor, nor could we so plan this 
division as to be sure that the different parts of our effort 
would finally merge in a pre-arranged end. The schools, 
the clubs, the debating societies, the football teams, the 
business houses that we know, all depend in part upon man’s 
ability to express to his fellow men his suspicions, hopes, 
fears, desires, wonderings, experiences, and plans. Language 
is the chief means of doing so. The development of it is 
therefore an inestimably important part of those steps 
whereby man mounted from savagery to civilization. 

Why is this story of man important? — The foregoing dis¬ 
cussion has not swept the whole field of human achievement, 
nor told the story in full detail. Enough has been given, 
however, to indicate concretely what we mean when we say 
that man has for thousands of years been substituting for 
the environment of nature an environment of his own inven¬ 
tion over which he can and must exercise some control. In 
doing so, he has brought upon himself the special prob¬ 
lems of civilization, and the necessity of solving such 
problems. 

B. Nature and Development of Social 
Institutions 

One part of man’s story as he grows from savagery to 
civilization we have thus far not touched upon. This is the 
story of what he has done to group life. The story is im¬ 
portant if we are to realize why man lives in a world of prob¬ 
lems and of problem-solving. 


22 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


Group life is natural. — Let us remember that merely 
living in a group is not a mark of civilization. Many species 
of birds, insects, and beasts live together in some sort of 
association. Such groups often have more members than 
some human groups, the members are often more persistent 
in their labors for the group than is man for his group, and, 
in the case of insects, the colonies are sometimes models of 
orderliness by comparison with human groups. Ants and 
bees provide apt illustrations of such non-human groups. 

Our most remote ancestors probably lived in groups of 
some sort. Every human being apparently possesses certain 
inborn tendencies which bring him into association with 
other human beings. He likes to play; perhaps he likes to 
quarrel with men whom he dislikes or distrusts; he likes to 
follow the man he trusts and admires; he is curious and 
imitative and will therefore follow where others go and join 
them in what they do; finally, he seeks a mate. In one way 
or another, man is led by the character with which he is born 
to seek relationships with his fellow men. We are reasonably 
safe in saying that human beings have always lived in asso¬ 
ciation with one another. 

What has man done to group life? — This group life is 
not itself a mark of civilization, but is the basis of a civilized 
society. By a society we mean a group of individuals organized 
about some common interests. Your high school literary so¬ 
ciety, for example, consists of a number of individuals who 
have been drawn together by their common interests in 
literary matters, organized themselves accordingly, and sub¬ 
mitted to certain rules of conduct. A tribe of savages con¬ 
stitutes a society because it is a group of individuals organized 
about common interests. The members of the group play 
together, go hunting in bands, share the spoils of war, struggle 
for leadership within the group, conduct religious services, 
and deal as a group with other tribes. All these activities 
are social because a number of people engage in them in an 
organized way for the achievement of a common end. 

In time, such a group will establish definite ways of making 


THE MEANING OF CIVILIZED SOCIETY 


23 


war, of hunting, of worshipping, of arranging marriages, and 
of treating with other groups. These definite ways of doing 
things we call “social habits ” or “customs ” Social habits 
are a good deal like personal habits. If a person has to do the 
same thing daily, he is likely to settle into doing it one way 
and one way only; then he has a habit. Making a habit of 
anything that must be regularly done has advantages: it 
saves time and effort. Similarly, social habits have great 
advantages. Because of custom, each man does not have to 
begin at the bottom of the ladder; custom teaches or sug¬ 
gests to him many of the rudiments of prudent conduct. 
Custom also makes it easier for men to conduct social re¬ 
lationships, for in so far as there are customary ways of 
acting in any matter, a man may know what is expected of 
him and in part what is expected of others. 

Such customs are most likely to grow up in connection 
with one of the permanent needs of man, needs that occur 
again and again within the group. Thus the repeated need 
of members of the group for spiritual comfort and faith in 
an enduring life will give rise to a number of religious prac¬ 
tices that we may call also religious customs. When a little 
cluster of such customs has gathered about some vital need 
of man, or some vital part of his activity, man may be said 
to have a social institution. A social institution may be de¬ 
fined as that body of customs and practices which minister to the 
satisfaction of a basic human need. 

Let us be sure that we understand precisely what is meant 
by the term “social institution.” The essence of a social 
institution is an intangible network of beliefs, practices, and 
customs, rather than a building or a definite organization. 
We speak of the church as a social institution, but the church 
building is less essential than are those activities, symbols, 
and beliefs which form the heart of religious observances. 
The church building is only a sign of the intangible but 
powerful feelings that impel man to be religious. It is merely 
the frail shell of an enduring inner spirit. 

The significant thing that man has done to the group life 


24 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


that he inherits is to develop in it social institutions whereby 
the group can function more efficiently. This development of 
institutions has been a gain not only for the group as such, 
but also for the members as individuals. The price he has 
paid for this development has again been that he has con¬ 
structed an elaborate environment of his own which raises 
problems both for the individual and for the group. Let us 
review some of the social institutions that man has thus es¬ 
tablished. 

The family. — Probably the most fundamental of all social 
institutions is the family. Its origin is hidden from us, but 
family life probably existed at an early date. Man and 
woman are instinctively attracted to each other. Their 
capacity for love and sympathy leads naturally to marriage. 
Mother love probably has an instinctive basis. In the course 
of the ages, mankind has made of this family a relatively 
stable institution which discharges a multitude of customary 
responsibilities. In earlier stages of human life, for example, 
the father seems to have wandered off from the mother and 
children, but in civilized family life, father and mother re¬ 
main together to protect and care for the children until they 
reach maturity. 

The government. — Another basic human need is political 
order. Man’s first efforts in this direction were doubtless 
made, while he was yet the rudest of savages, to repel a hos¬ 
tile tribe. In time, hunting and fishing were seen to be more 
effective when the members of the tribe cooperated with one 
another in some sort of orderly fashion. Therefore, just as a 
crowd of boys inevitably begin to argue about what they are 
going to do, how they can best do it, and who is to lead or di¬ 
rect them and reach practicable rules of procedure, so primi¬ 
tive people developed political rules or customs, submitted 
to leadership, and laid other foundations of law and govern¬ 
ment. These foundations have been built upon by successive 
generations until man has developed those vast and compli¬ 
cated modern states of which the United States is an im¬ 
portant example. 


THE MEANING OF CIVILIZED SOCIETY 


25 


Economic institutions. — As we have seen, one of the 
fundamental needs of man is for food, shelter, and clothing. 
Some of the earliest customs of man were, therefore, methods 
of hunting, fishing, house-building, and clothes-making. The 
acquisitive instinct impelled him to get control of weapons, 
ornaments, and land, while the necessity of adjusting con¬ 
flicting claims led to the idea of property. Thus arose a 
series of customs, beliefs, practices, and laws concerning 
tools, weapons, and various kinds of property. In other 
words, there was developed a series of social institutions hav¬ 
ing particular reference to matters of property. The institu¬ 
tion of private property is a result of such development. 

The school. — Education is a means of helping the young 
to grapple effectively with their problems and to prepare for 
the problems of adult life. Man early developed educational 
institutions of some sort, for even savages have definite 
methods of acquiring and transmitting knowledge. Among 
the Indians of our own country, for example, parents taught 
their children how to hunt and fish, how to protect them¬ 
selves against wild beasts, and how to make clothing and 
weapons. Sometimes there were certain old men in the tribe 
who had a reputation for great wisdom, and these wise men 
were often called upon to act as special instructors of the 
young. Ceremonies, beliefs, traditions, and customs grew 
up about the methods of transmitting this information. The 
resulting system of instruction was a forerunner of that 
modern social institution which we call the school. 

The church. — Broadly defined, religion consists of man’s 
attitude toward the divine or supernatural, and of beliefs 
or practices which grow out of that attitude. Man is a 
religious creature, and no explorer has ever found a people 
who did not have some sort of religion. Savages in the most 
widely separated regions have their own particular notions 
of the origin of the world, their beliefs respecting death and 
the world beyond the grave, their ceremonies for the expres¬ 
sion of religious feeling, and their priests or medicine men. 
Ritual, ceremony, symbols, beliefs, religious dignitaries, and 


26 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


buildings such as temples, cathedrals, and churches — all 
these have arisen out of man’s attempt to satisfy his religious 
needs. What we today speak of as the church is thus a social 
institution which has developed to meet an urgent and per¬ 
sistent demand. 

We live in a network of social institutions. — Let us note 
the significance to the individual, to you and to me, of this 
development of group life that we have just been sketching. 
The social institutions reach out and influence every indi¬ 
vidual in numerous ways. No one escapes their influence. 
At birth, each individual comes under the influence of the 
family, and throughout infancy and childhood he is controlled 
largely by the conditions of his home life. Nearly every 
boy and girl attends school. Every member of society is 
automatically a citizen of a state. The necessity of earning 
a living brings the individual in touch with economic insti¬ 
tutions which have grown out of man’s practical needs. The 
church, too, has its effect upon the individual. While no 
one social institution takes all of the individual, every mem¬ 
ber of society is influenced by a number of social institutions. 
In an important sense, then, the life of the individual is a 
matter of his relations with the various social institutions. 

C. The Place of Knowledge in Civilization 

The foregoing account of what it has meant for man to 
civilize himself would be incomplete if we did not add to it 
a description of the place of information and ideas in mod¬ 
ern civilized society. 

Our methods of acquiring information. — The savage has 
his eyes, and they are sharp, but we have supplemented the 
naked eye by microscopes, telescopes, and other inventions. 
The savage has his ears; civilized man has invented the tele¬ 
phone, the phonograph, and the radio, so that he may hear 
the voices-of people who are thousands of miles away, or who 
have been dead for many years. The savage passes on by 
word of mouth his traditions and customs — what he has 


THE MEANING OF CIVILIZED SOCIETY 


27 


learned; we have an elaborate system of schools and libraries 
for the transmission of knowledge. In short, we have so 
supplemented man’s natural gifts as to increase enormously 
his knowledge and his means of acquiring it. 

Our effective use of this knowledge. — Civilized man has 
also developed a relatively effective use of his knowledge. 
Primitive man seems to have looked upon lightning as a 
dreadful thing. We have seized upon this mysterious force 
in another form, and have made it our slave, so that the same 
thing which affrighted our distant ancestors now carries us 
about the earth, lights our houses, makes toast for break¬ 
fast, and in countless other ways adds to our comfort. 

Our methods of spreading knowledge. — Modern civiliza¬ 
tion has also developed means for a wonderful diffusion of 
knowledge. The telegraph and telephone, the moving picture 
and radio make human isolation a phenomenon of dwindling 
importance. The Nevada sheepherder often has a radio, 
the Alaskan miner is familiar with the moving picture, the 
girl in the backwoods of Maine uses the illustrated newspaper 
to keep up with Parisian styles of dressing hair. A new 
method of combating cancer is announced one day, and on 
the next it is discussed by thousands of surgeons in all parts 
of the world. 

Our advancement of knowledge. — Civilization is, in our 
time, characterized by the systematic advancement of knowl¬ 
edge in all departments of human activity. There are insects 
which at the prompting of instinct lay eggs in an accumulated 
store of food and then die without ever seeing their offspring. 
In civilized society there are people who perform a some¬ 
what similar function at the urge of rational choice and 
ingrained habit. These people are students, librarians, pro¬ 
fessors, scientists, writers, and the like. They are engaged in 
uncovering the knowledge of the ancients, feeding it into our 
present life, systematizing it for ready reference, and per¬ 
petuating it along with the best of our own achievement. 
By means of such research and systematization of knowledge, 
we become as twigs upon the tree of life, drawing up the sap 


28 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


of the past and doing our bit toward a greater future, though 
we ourselves shall not live to see it. 

D. What is the Meaning of a Civilized Society? 

Let us now fix in mind the main points brought out by 
the foregoing discussion of man’s civilization. 

Civilization is a development. — We have seen that civili¬ 
zation did not spring full-fledged into existence. Instead, 
it came slowly into existence as the result of humble, daily, 
laborious attempts of man from primitive times onward to 
satisfy his hunger, provide shelter and clothing, and explain 
such dreadful things as thunder, storm, and death. There 
is no sharp line between primitive, savage, and civilized. 
We of today are twigs on a tree. Where are the first roots of 
the tree, we know not; nor do we know what the tree shall 
finally grow to. We have our season to blossom and help 
the tree to bear its fruit. The lesson for us in such a fact is 
that the history of man is not yet complete, that we should 
take upon ourselves the common task of advancing the in¬ 
terests of man upon his planet. To put the matter in terms 
of this book, life is a stream of problems, and the individual 
may be expected to swim in that stream with eagerness and 
skill. The eagerness he is born with, and needs only not to 
lose; the skill he may cultivate by study. 

Civilization modifies the natural environment. — Environ¬ 
ment is the sum total of all the conditions and influences 
which affect life. We have seen that man, in ascending from 
savagery to civilization, has greatly changed his surround¬ 
ings. The environment of the savage is largely a natural 
environment; that is, his life is largely influenced by such 
natural phenomena as storm, flood, woods, rivers, grass, and 
wild animals. Such influences continue into civilized life, 
but we greatly modify this natural environment and reduce 
its immediate power over our daily lives. 

Civilization creates a social environment. — No living 
creature can escape from environment. Civilization has done 


THE MEANING OF CIVILIZED SOCIETY 


29 


no more than to substitute one kind of environment for an¬ 
other. The city child of today is little influenced by such 
things as wild beasts, polluted streams, and forest fires. He 
is, however, greatly influenced by such things as streets, 
automobiles, crowds, moving pictures, and books. Such 
things constitute a new environment, one which is artificial 
in the sense that it is created by human society living under 
modern conditions. 

To a large extent, therefore, civilization has done away 
with natural environment, and has developed in its stead a 
network of surroundings that are complex, relatively new, 
constantly changing, and extremely dependent upon social 
relations. 

Civilization is chiefly a matter of ideas. — Civilization 
may develop in this direction or in that, but always it de¬ 
pends upon human mentality. The achievements and the 
present activities of our civilized society are stamped by 
intelligence, thought, reflection, planning, and foresight. We 
dash across continents, dive into the sea, or take our ease 
in an airplane because the human brain has learned how to 
make natural power do its bidding. 

Suppose we should lose all our tangible possessions, such 
as houses, railroads, factories, schools, art museums, and 
scientific instruments. For a time, we should be as destitute 
and miserable as savages, but if we retained our mental 
powers, we might eventually rise again and reproduce the 
essentials of what had been destroyed. Suppose, however, 
that we were robbed of our extensive information and high 
mental capacity, but left in possession of our cities, schools, 
governmental machinery, and scientific instruments. What 
then? We should speedily sink into savagery or even a 
worse condition. Without the mind to animate the instru¬ 
ments of civilization, these instruments are as useless as a 
typewriter in the paws of a monkey. 

Here, also, lies a lesson for us. We live in a civilized society 
that is full of problems that can be adequately handled only 
by minds accurately informed and trained to think truly. 


30 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


We can, therefore, take a full part in that society only if we 
have developed ourselves to the point where we demand in¬ 
formation before forming opinions and enjoy bringing in¬ 
dustry, alertness, open-mindedness, and resourcefulness to 
the solution of a problem. 


Activities and References 
Significant Words and Phrases 

Stone Age, age of metals, domestication, pre-historic, pastoral age, magic, 
cooperation, society, group life, customs, social institution, family, government, 
economic institution, school, church, meaning. 

Questions 

1. Name, and describe the invention of, the first tools. 

2. Why was copper one of the first metals used? What two metals 

followed? 

3. In what sense did tools enable man to re-create his environment? 

4. What advantages were gained by the domestication of animals? 

5. How did the domestication of animals lead to the pastoral age? 

6. How did the domestication of plants lead to farming? 

7. Give an illustration of early mathematics. 

8. Define language. 

9. Give an illustration of this statement: Language is our means of 

preserving and transmitting knowledge. 

10. Give an instance in which language is an aid to cooperation. 

11. What non-human beings live in groups? 

12. Why do people live in groups? 

13. What are some advantages of custom? 

14. Define a social institution. Give five examples. 

15. What are two advantages of family life for the children? 

16. What causes led to the formation of government? 

17. Explain how private property is an institution. 

18. What are schools for? Are they primarily for present or future needs 

of boys and girls? 

19. What social need do churches answer? 

20. Explain: Man’s life is the sum total of his social relationships. 

21. Why can parents today not tell their children all that they need to 

know? 

22. How is knowledge spread abroad? 

23. Who are the transmitters of knowledge? 


THE MEANING OF CIVILIZED SOCIETY 31 

24. Give three examples of how man has changed his natural environment. 

25. Contrast urban and rural environments. 

26. Why are ideas more important than tangible possessions? 

27. Summarize the chapter. 

Problems 

1. Problem: To appreciate the achievements of primitive man. Method: 
Debate the relative importance of a stone spear and the steam hammer 
in the whole history of man. 

2. Problem: To learn some of the difficulties of domestication. Method: 
Construct an imaginary account of how man tamed the horse, the cow, 
or the dog. How would the problems be altered if a plant were sub¬ 
stituted for an animal? 

3. Problem: To appreciate the advantages of custom. Method: Suppose 
that a person arose some morning having forgotten all social customs. 
He forgets to wash or to shave, he forgets to tell his wife or family 
good-by, he fails to speak to his neighbor, he follows no customs. 
How, then, do customs make life easier? Should people slavishly 
follow customs? 

4. Problem: To trace the development of a social institution. Method: 
Select one of the institutions mentioned in the chapter and use the 
encyclopedias to secure information. Write an outline history of how 
it developed. 

5. Problem: To appreciate the complexity of our environment. Method: 
List ten things which you must learn that people did not need to know 
in 1900. 

6. Problem: To see how we modify our natural environment. Method: 
Mark Twain said that people were always complaining about the 
weather and that no one ever did anything about it. Of course, the 
famous humorist was mistaken. List ten things which we do to alter 
the effects of weather — heat, cold, rain, etc. 


References 

Arnold, Problems of American Life 

Ellwood, Sociology and Modern Social Problems 

Finney, Elementary Sociology 

Shideler, Group Life and Social Problems 

Towne, Social Problems 

Williamson, Readings in American Democracy 

-, Introduction to Sociology 



CHAPTER III 


THE SOCIAL SCIENCES 

What are “subjects”? — When you entered school you 
were, no doubt, impressed by the number of subjects in the 
school program or curriculum. They seemed numerous, 
difficult, and confusing. They probably appeared as so 
many difficult obstacles which you were expected to over¬ 
come. You may have retained this notion even in high 
school. Let us try now to get a clearer view of what a subject 
is and what its functions are. 

Savage people had no sociology, no economics, no organized 
bodies of knowledge. Their history was unrecorded and their 
government was little more than custom. Without careful 
consideration you are likely to think that savages, being 
simple people, had simple ideas and simple customs. Just 
the opposite was true. Their customs were complex, elabo¬ 
rate, and sometimes, we now see, nonsensical. Their in¬ 
formation and their ideas were limited, confused, and jumbled 
together. Events which had no connection with each other 
were often regarded by them as cause and effect. They 
knew many isolated facts, but their facts were unorganized. 
Magic and superstition caused them to make illogical and 
absurd associations. They did not know how to assemble 
and classify related materials. In other words, they did not 
have any organized, simplified group of related facts such 
as we have under the heading of arithmetic or history. 

Such a collected, organized, and simplified group of facts 
is called a subject. Instead of being a burden or a difficult 
task, a subject is a collection of related materials which are 
easier and more understandable because they have been 
gathered together. Our social heritage, complex and con- 

32 


THE SOCIAL SCIENCES 


33 


fusing when considered altogether, becomes clear and com¬ 
prehensible when broken up into subjects like language, 
economics, history, and geography. Knowledge, then, has 
been organized into approachable and workable units called 
subjects. Thus we see that a subject, instead of being an 
artificial obstacle, is really the result of an effort to simplify 
complex material and to present it in an understandable 
manner. 

This statement of the nature of subjects applies to all of 
our studies, but we are here concerned primarily with those 
that deal directly with people and their activities. Let us 
see in what way a subject, in addition to being a simplified 
portion of human achievement, furnishes a suggestive method 
and serves as a tool with which we can work upon human 
problems. 

The equipment for problems of human relationship. — The 
workman needs his tools. If the carpenter has the lumber 
and other materials, his tools, and a plan, he can soon erect 
a garage. No one would be so foolish as to expect him to 
proceed to build the garage without tools. No one would 
expect the chemist to work without his test tubes, retorts, 
and chemicals. In all kinds of work some equipment is 
necessary. 

The kind of equipment which one needs depends upon the 
kind of work which he plans to do. The lawyer needs a 
well-stocked mind, books, and skill in speaking. The doctor 
needs some medicines, instruments, books, and skill in 
diagnosing and treating patients. The nature of the work 
determines the kind of equipment needed. 

What kind of equipment does one need for working on the 
problems of human relationships? The answer is difficult 
because the equipment has not been standardized. The 
field of human relationships is so complex that no one person 
or group of persons is able to cover it. Consequently, the 
material has been divided among several groups. Each 
group has developed a special subject in which facts of a 
certain kind are collected, classified, and studied. All these 


34 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


subjects have to do with people and their interrelations. 
Collectively they are known as the social sciences. In order, 
then, to work effectively on human problems, one needs to 
know something of the social sciences. 

What are the social sciences? — Those subjects which are 
primarily concerned with people and their interrelations are 
called the social sciences. Scholars disagree as to the exact 
number of the social sciences, but those subjects in the high 
school curriculum which clearly belong among the social 
sciences are history, sociology, economics, and government. 
Other subjects such as geography and literature have some 
social aspects, but science, mathematics, and languages, al¬ 
though possessing social utility and social aspects, do not 
belong primarily among the social sciences. We are con¬ 
cerned, then, directly with history, sociology, economics, 
and government. What equipment does each of these sub¬ 
jects furnish for working on the problems in American de¬ 
mocracy? Let us question each of these subjects. 

History. — In what way can history contribute to our 
understanding of problems? Since history is the memory or 
record of things said and done, it should furnish a great deal 
of useful information. Everything that exists has a history, 
recorded or unrecorded. If it is recorded it may be utilized 
in the study of our problem. If it is unrecorded we may have 
to become historians, temporarily, in order to find the needed 
information. Every problem has a history. There is a 
history of crime, of immigration, of child labor, of land 
questions, of unemployment, of financial crises. History does 
not predict or prophesy, but it does tell the story. This 
story, by revealing the causes of a problem, will give us clues 
to the relevant facts and thus help us to solve it. 

Everyone realizes the importance of the past. The ac¬ 
cumulated knowledge and achievements of the past enable 
us to start our lives on a much higher level than would other¬ 
wise be possible. The historian is the trustee of the records 
of these great achievements. Everyone needs to consult him. 
No one should be so unwise as to propose the solution of a 


THE SOCIAL SCIENCES 


35 


great problem when history shows the futility of that pro¬ 
posed solution. History, then, can guard us against mistakes 
as well as furnish us fruitful ideas. It is so useful that the 
great educators have placed it in every grade in our schools. 

History will be called upon frequently in our studies. It 
should prove to be one of our most useful tools. In fact, 
it often furnishes the best approach to the study of a problem. 
It also furnishes us an excellent method for testing the sound¬ 
ness of proposed solutions. The historian has learned to 
weigh evidence, to verify his sources, to separate the true 
from the false. We shall borrow from him both his results 
and his method. 

Economics. — In what way can economics contribute to 
our understanding of human problems? Each of the social 
sciences is concerned with some aspect of human relation¬ 
ships. Economics deals with man in his efforts to make a 
living. Men working together can make a better living for 
all than anyone, no matter how capable, could make for 
himself. But this process of working together brings on all 
sorts of problems. How much should each one do and how 
much of the product should he have? No such problems 
would arise if each man lived to himself, but since we live 
together we must try to adjust ourselves to one another. 

Economics throws light upon the problems of producing 
wheat, automobiles, books, and toys. It throws light upon 
the problems of money, credit, banking, and transportation. 
It throws light upon the problems of wages, profits, prices, 
and the share of goods which falls to each person. How does 
it do so? First it collects and organizes the facts about our 
economic activity, about man’s activity in trying to make a 
living; then, from these sifted and organized facts, the 
science of economics formulates principles of successful con¬ 
duct in economic matters. Thus it is obvious that we must 
call upon economics for many answers and for a great deal 
of information. In another section we shall study some of 
the problems which fall directly within the scope of econom¬ 
ics. The assistance which we shall get from economics will 


36 PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 

also help us in our study of general problems which involve 
matter for all of the special social sciences. 

Sociology. — In what way can sociology contribute to our 
understanding of human problems? Sociology is the study 
of society. All people are members of society as a whole , just 
as a certain group constitutes a particular society. Sociology, 
then, is the study of people taken all together. It is con¬ 
cerned with the individual only to the extent that he is a 
member of the great, inclusive society. We have seen that 
economics is interested in the association of man with man to 
make a living. Sociology is interested in the association of 
man with man to form a network of relationships in which 
cooperation and combat, interaction and reaction, raise prob¬ 
lems that need solution. In fact, sociology is interested in 
all the ways in which human beings react with respect to 
one another. 

Sociology should be able to help us in our study of prob¬ 
lems. The rules or principles of human conduct which so¬ 
ciology has discovered and formulated should be of material 
assistance in our study of war, crime, unemployment, and 
all the problems in which people are concerned. In another 
section we shall trace the development of society and take 
up some problems which fall directly within the province of 
society. 

Government. — In what way can the study of government 
contribute to our understanding of human problems? Gov¬ 
ernment is the study of the theories and practices which 
operate through our constitutions, legislatures, officials, and 
courts. We maintain a centralized agency for preserving 
the peace and for regulating the numerous details of organized 
society. Without government the strong would exploit the 
weak and the majority would oppress the minority. 

One can readily see that we must study government in 
order to understand the problems of today. By laws, regu¬ 
lations, taxes, and the maintenance of agencies the gov¬ 
ernment affects everyone profoundly. We can make little 
headway in studying the problem of crime or poverty with- 


THE SOCIAL SCIENCES 


37 


out considering the ways in which government plays a part 
in that problem. Government itself presents many complex 
problems, some of which we shall consider in another section. 

Unity of the social sciences. — Each of the social sciences 
has its own field, but all together they constitute the larger 
field of organized knowledge about human relationships. 
No one of these sciences is complete in itself. Consequently, 
we must call upon every one of them for help in our study of 
the problems in American democracy. Some of our prob¬ 
lems will fall directly within the bounds of one subject; 
such problems will be considered in the section devoted to 
that subject. Other problems, complex and overlapping, 
will touch all of the social sciences; they will be considered 
in a section devoted to problems whose solutions require the 
help of all the subjects. 

A glance backward — and forward. — We have indicated, 
in these first three chapters,, what we understand by prob¬ 
lems, what kinds of problems there are, what problems we 
shall treat in this book, the human significance of those 
problems, and the intellectual tools whereby we may treat 
them. We are ready to turn to the problems themselves. 

Activities and References 
Significant Words and Phrases 

Cause and effect, social heritage, social sciences, social utility, historical 
method. 

Questions 

1. Savages had complex ideas and complicated customs. Explain. 

2. What is a subject in school and how did it come into existence? 

3. What constitutes the equipment of a student, a lawyer, a mechanic? 

4. With what general subject are the social sciences concerned? 

5. Name four social science subjects frequently taught in high school. 

6. Define history. Show how history might be useful for a lawyer, a 

doctor, a farmer. 

7. How can history guard us against mistakes? 

8. In what sense are we all historians? 

9. With what kind of problems is economics concerned? 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


10. Sociology is concerned with the association, the togetherness, of people 

rather than with individuals. Explain. 

11. Whom does government protect? 

12. What is meant by calling the social sciences tools? Tools for what 

purpose? 

13. What kind of problems fall within economics, sociology, and govern¬ 

ment? 

14. What kind of problems require the aid of all the social sciences? 

Projects 

1. Problem: To appreciate the content of the social sciences. Method: 
Draw pictures of about fifteen people forming a circle. Let the circle 
be as large as the paper or blackboard permits. Draw a line across the 
circle connecting two persons and label the line “History.” Draw 
other lines for each of the social sciences. 

2. Problem: To appreciate the utility of each of the social sciences. 
Method: List five problems which belong in each of the subjects, his¬ 
tory, economics, sociology, and government. Show how the subjects 
are practical. 

References 


Finney, Elementary Sociology 

Ogburn and Goldenweiser, The Social Sciences and their Interrelations 
(Primarily for the teacher) 

Shideler, Group Life and Social Problems 


PART II 


AMERICAN ECONOMIC PROBLEMS 


Everyone faces the problem of making a living. 
For some it is exceedingly easy; for most it is serious 
and difficult; for a few it is impossible. So many 
factors are involved in making a living, that doing 
so is for most people a serious problem. In this 
part of the book we shall direct our efforts toward 
an understanding of how society, faced with the 
great problems of making, exchanging, and distrib¬ 
uting goods, has evolved certain fundamental prin¬ 
ciples. Thus we are seeking to learn, first of all, the 
way in which society has tentatively solved some of 
its great economic problems. Economics, then, is 
the study of man as he makes a living. Since most 
of us are compelled to work for a living, the study 
of economic problems ought to be both interesting 
and helpful. 


CHAPTER IV 


NATURE OF AMERICAN INDUSTRY 

Our economic environment. — It is obvious from our study 
of primitive man and from our knowledge of early peoples 
that some situations are more favorable for making a living 
than others. The wandering nomads from the sparse desert 
lands soon learned that life in a fertile valley was more 
pleasant than on the arid, dusty wastes. Nature has been 
bountiful in some areas and niggardly in others. Some 
countries contain much greater natural advantages than 
others. The physical environment, then, is an economic 
factor of great importance. The nature of people — their 
foresight, industry, and numbers — is the other great factor. 
Let us see how these two have combined to produce the 
setting for American industry. 

Magnitude of American industry. — In colonial times the 
major part of American industry was concentrated along 
the Atlantic seaboard; today it extends over a large part of 
the continent. A century and a half ago our industrial system 
was still a relatively simple one, giving rise to few pressing 
problems of national importance; at the present time it is a 
vast and complicated affair, closely bound up with many of 
the most vital problems which confront American democracy. 
The activities which are commonly grouped under the head of 
“American industry’’ are so numerous and so varied that a 
description of all of them would carry us beyond the limits 
of this chapter. Nevertheless, it is important that we secure 
some understanding of these activities. A few pages may 
profitably be spent, therefore, in discussing certain basic facts 
of American industry. 


41 


42 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


Favorable location of the United States. — Let us com¬ 
mence by noting that the location of the United States is 
favorable to the development of industry. Of the two Ameri¬ 
can continents, the northern has the greater natural advan¬ 
tages. Each continent is roughly in the form of a triangle 
with the apex or smaller end pointing southward, but whereas 
the larger end of the South American triangle is within the 
tropic zone and only the tapering end is within the more 
favorable temperate zone, the greater part of the North 
American triangle is within the temperate zone. With re¬ 
gard to location for world trade the northern continent again 
has the advantage: the ports of South America face a rela¬ 
tively empty ocean on the west and the little-developed con¬ 
tinent of Africa on the east; the ports of North America, in 
addition to being more numerous and more suitable for com¬ 
merce than those of the southern continent, face the teeming 
Orient on the west, and the great markets of Europe on the 
east. Moreover, the United States occupies the choicest 
portions of the North American continent. Our neighbor 
Canada has a cold and snow-bound frontier on her north, 
while on our south Mexico and the Central American coun¬ 
tries lie near the tropics. The heart of temperate America, 
on the other hand, is included within the territory of the 
United States. 

Population. — Scarcely less important than the favorable 
location of the United States is the character of the people 
occupying the country. From less than four million in 1790, 
our population has increased so rapidly that in 1930 there 
were 122,775,046 people within the bounds of continental 
United States. As the population has increased, it has spread 
over the Appalachians, into the great Mississippi basin, and 
westward to the Pacific Ocean. Accompanying the increase 
and westward spread of the population has come a greater 
variety of racial types. Although our population was varied 
in colonial times, the great majority of the settlers were from 
the British Isles and northwestern Europe. In the latter 
part of the nineteenth century immigration from northern 


NATURE OF AMERICAN INDUSTRY 


43 


Europe declined and more and more immigrants began to 
come from southern and southeastern Europe. So universal 
has been the attraction of America, that our present popula¬ 
tion includes elements from every important country in the 
world. From the industrial standpoint, the dominant char¬ 
acteristics of this composite American people are energy and 
versatility. 

Our national wealth. — National wealth consists of natural 
resources, such as land, coal, oil, gas, and forests and goods , 
such as railroads, buildings, furniture, crops, horses, and 
everything that is owned. Our wealth, especially in nat¬ 
ural resources, has from the first been great, and the wealth 
in goods has increased at an enormous rate. In 1850 it 
amounted to about $7,000,000,000. By 1900 it had reached 
$88,000,000,000 and in 1929 was $361,800,000,000. This 
means that each individual would own about $2977 worth of 
property if all shared the total wealth equally. Each family 
of four would be worth about $11,908. Of course the equal 
division of property is impossible, but the theoretical process 
helps us to appreciate the vast sums mentioned above. Ac¬ 
cording to the best estimates the wealth of the United States 
exceeds the combined wealth of Great Britain, France, Ger¬ 
many, Italy, and Belgium. 

What the American people are doing. — A large percent¬ 
age of the inhabitants of the United States are engaged in 
some form of productive work. According to the 1930 cen¬ 
sus there were 48,832,589 persons, male and female, over 
ten years of age, engaged in gainful occupations in this 
country. Of this number 10,482,323 were engaged in agri¬ 
culture and allied industries, while 14,317,535 were busy 
in manufacturing pursuits. Almost eight million are found in 
some form of trade, and another five million are employed in 
domestic and personal service. Transportation, clerical work, 
and professional callings utilize the services of several addi¬ 
tional million. The great majority of those employed in 
American industry are men, although the number of women 
in industry is steadily increasing. Children have been found 


44 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


in industrial pursuits since colonial times, but of recent years 
there is a growing movement to restrict or prohibit the em¬ 
ployment of children in gainful occupations. 

Forests and minerals. — The natural resources of the 
United States play a large part in our industrial life. One 
fifth of the territory of the United States is still covered 
with timber. We are abundantly supplied with coal and iron, 
the two most important industrial minerals. Our coal de¬ 
posits outrank, both in quantity and in quality, those of any 
other country. Iron is found in most of the states in the 
Union, the high-grade deposits of the Lake Superior area 
being of special importance. In 1927 we produced 52 per 
cent of the world’s supply of copper, which, after coal and 
iron, is the most important industrial mineral. Our supply 
of petroleum and natural gas is large, and in spite of the 
waste which has characterized our use of these important 
commodities, our production of both is still great. Gold, 
silver, zinc, lead, and phosphates are produced in the United 
States in large quantities. Indeed, we have ample supplies 
of practically all of the minerals of importance to industry, 
except platinum, tin, and nickel. 

Agriculture. — Until very recently, at least, agriculture 
has been by far our most important industry. Of the two 
billion acres comprising continental United States, approxi¬ 
mately half are under cultivation. In most sections of the 
country the quality of the soil is good, and rainfall is ample. 
We have long led the world in the value of farm crops grown. 
Our production of wheat, corn, oats, barley, rye, and dairy 
products totals an enormous figure. The steady enclosure of 
lands formerly used for grazing stock is restricting our pro¬ 
duction of food animals, but we are still important as a pro¬ 
ducer of meats. Most of the world’s tobacco is grown in this 
country. The world’s supply of cotton is derived mainly 
from southern United States. Finally, our soil is of such 
variety and our climate so diversified that the danger of a 
general crop failure is slight. A loss in one part of the country 
is almost certain to be offset by good crops in another. 


NATURE OF AMERICAN INDUSTRY 


45 


Manufacturing. — In colonial times American manufac¬ 
tures were subjected to more or less restraint by Great Brit¬ 
ain, but after the Revolution these industries entered upon 
a period of free and rapid development. Modern machinery 
was introduced rapidly after 1800, large-scale production 
was developed, transportation was fostered, and larger and 
larger markets were supplied with the products of American 
manufacturers. Particularly since the Civil War has the 
importance of our manufactures increased. This increase has 
been due chiefly to the large-scale production of foodstuffs, 
including meats and flour, textiles, iron and steel products, 
shoes, chemicals, and agricultural machinery. According to 
recent census figures it would appear that we are passing 
from a predominantly agricultural life to a stage in which 
manufacturing is of relatively greater importance. 

Transportation and communication. — The physical geog¬ 
raphy of the United States encourages the development of 
adequate means of transportation and communication. The 
St. Lawrence-Great Lakes system gives easy access to the 
most fertile section of the continent. The Mississippi and its 
tributaries drain a million square miles of farm land. We 
have, in addition to 18,000 miles of navigable rivers, a greater 
coast line available for commerce than has the whole of 
Europe. New York is the world’s greatest seaport. 

Few mountain ranges hamper the development of trans¬ 
continental railroads in this country, and of these only one, 
the Rockies, is a serious obstacle to effective transportation. 
Our railroad mileage is enormous, a half dozen transcontinen¬ 
tal and dozens of .north and south lines being supplemented 
by numerous smaller roads and feeding lines. We have more 
than 2000 miles of canals in operation. On many thousands 
of miles of hard-surfaced roads trucks are operating all over 
the country. Cheap and rapid transportation between the 
different parts of the country, supplemented by adequate 
means of communication by telephone, telegraph, the radio, 
and the postal service, undoubtedly has been one of the 
greatest factors in our national prosperity. 


46 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


Domestic and foreign trade. — The greater part of our 
products is not shipped to foreign markets, but is utilized 
within the country. America is a young country and its 
expanding desires and demands had for a time no apparent 
limit. The average American is able to buy more manu¬ 
factured products such as electric sewing machines, washing 
machines, radios, automobiles, and numerous luxuries, than 
the average inhabitant of other countries. Thus for many 
years domestic demands kept our manufacturers busy; con¬ 
sequently foreign markets were not so keenly desired. Within 
the last few years, however, the supply of manufactured 
products has exceeded the local demands, and foreign mar¬ 
kets are being more eagerly sought. This condition is likely 
to continue for an indefinite period and is bound to lead to 
still greater efforts to secure customers in foreign countries. 

Even though a very small proportion of our products is 
sent abroad, the foreign trade of the United States exceeds 
in value the foreign trade of any other country. This pre¬ 
dominance is due, not so much to our search for foreign 
markets, as to the steady demand in other countries for three 
classes of goods in the production of which we have a distinct 
advantage. These three classes of goods are, first, raw ma¬ 
terials of which we have a great abundance, such as cotton 
and copper; second, specialties invented and patented by 
Americans, such as inexpensive automobiles, typewriters, 
and phonographs; and, third, commodities which may be 
advantageously produced by large-scale methods, such as 
agricultural machinery and the cheaper grades of textiles. 

Summary and forecast. — We have very briefly surveyed 
some of the basic facts of American industry. On the one 
hand, the favorable location and the rich natural resources 
of the United States have furnished a substantial basis for 
industrial progress. On the other hand, we must note that 
the American people are energetic and versatile'— combin¬ 
ing, to a happy degree, the qualities of initiative and origi¬ 
nality, perseverance and adaptability. The great wealth 
and prosperity of the country as a whole have been the re- 


NATURE OF AMERICAN INDUSTRY 47 

suit of the combination of a favorable land and an able 
people. 

This is not the whole of the story, of course. It must be 
admitted that, with all of our wealth, we continue to face 
serious charges of poverty and industrial maladjustment. 
These charges are of great importance, but it should be re¬ 
membered that no problem can be solved, or even intelli¬ 
gently attacked, until the essential facts are well in hand. 
We have briefly described the nature of American industry. 
What we have now to do, as a preliminary to considering 
the problem of poverty and industrial reform, is to analyze 
the economic laws in accordance with which American in¬ 
dustry has developed. The essential facts of the next few 
chapters cannot be weighed too carefully. 


Activities and References 
Significant Words and Phrases 

Economic problems, national wealth, natural resources, goods, transporta¬ 
tion, communication, domestic trade, productive work. 


Questions 

1. Name one group which finds it impossible to make a living. 

2. What is the difference between a general and an individual economic 

problem? How are they related? 

3. What are the two great factors that determine the economic success of 

a country? 

4. Contrast the two Americas with respect to size, shape, climate, and 

location. 

5. What is the present population of the United States? 

6. List ten important racial elements which have gone into the making 

of Americans. 

7. List ten important elements of our national wealth. 

8. Name the four industries which employ the largest number of people. 

9. What are the two most important minerals? Why? 

10. What minerals are not mined in the United States? 

11. In what two crops does the United States lead the world? 

12. Describe the transition of the United States from an agricultural to a 

manufacturing country. 


48 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


13. Mention three means of transportation and three means of com¬ 

munication. 

14. Compare the value of our domestic and foreign trade. 

15. Why is our foreign trade becoming relatively more important? 

16. What three types of goods are exported in large quantities? 

Projects 

1. Problem: To appreciate the change from an agricultural to an in¬ 
dustrial life. Method: Consult five grown-up people and find out 
what occupations they follow and what occupations their fathers 
followed. What tendency did you note? 

2. Problem: To see how environment has affected the development of 
our country. Method: Find the average annual rainfall, the average 
temperature, and some crop averages per acre. What conclusions can 
you draw as to the advantages which our country enjoys? 

3. Problem: To see how natural resources have affected the distribution 
of people in your state. Method: Using a large state map note the 
areas with few towns and cities. Why are there so few? Note the areas 
with large cities and many towns. Explain. 

4. Problem: To see how people in your state make a living. Method: 
From the Abstract of the Census classify the people of your state as to 
occupations. Explain why the leading occupation is the leading one. 

References 

Bogart, Economic History of the United States 
Carman, Social and Economic History of the United States 
Faulkner, American Economic History 
Semple, American History and its Geographic Conditions 
Williamson, Readings in American Democracy 


CHAPTER V 


THE CONSUMPTION OF GOODS 

Goods and utilities. — In economics a good is anything 
that satisfies human want. Your teacher is rendering a 
service that satisfies the wants of your community. His 
service, then, is an economic good. Goods are divided into 
two classes, free and economic. Free goods are those which 
are so abundant and so unlimited that no one has to struggle 
to procure them. Air, sunlight, and rainfall are examples of 
free goods. Economic goods are those which are scarce 
enough to command a price. You can readily think of many 
examples. 



The Law of Diminishing Utility 

The quality which makes a thing desirable is called utility. 
Goods must have utility or they have no value. Some prod¬ 
ucts have inherent utility, such as the sweetness of cane 
juice, the durability of cotton fibers, and the hardness of 
iron. These qualities are called elementary utilities. Other 
goods achieve form utility only when they have been re- 

49 











50 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


worked. A lost hammer is more valuable than the same 
amount of iron because it has form utility, but it does not 
have place utility , because so long as it is lost no one can use 
it. If, however, the lost hammer is found just when it is 
most needed it is said to have time utility. Before goods are 
consumed, then, they must have form , place, and time util¬ 
ities. 

Economic wants. — Economic desires are numerous and 
varied. Mere desires, however, must grow into actual de¬ 
mand before they have any effect upon the production of 
goods. Economic wants are continually changing and they 
usually increase in number as one grows older. When our 
fathers were boys they had no desire for toy airplanes, and 
our mothers now have no desire for hoop skirts. Inventions 
and styles change economic wants. Our wants are influenced 
enormously by what other people have. Many people 
formerly bought automobiles partly because of a desire to 
keep up with their neighbors. We discard very substantial 
clothing and furniture because they no longer satisfy our 
desires. As children we have many desires and wants which 
we outgrow, but they are replaced by numerous others, 
most of which cost more and lead to greater activity to 
satisfy. Thus our wants are continually changing. 

Economic wants, however, have some very definite limits. 
No one wants a hundred collars. Some consumer may want 
twenty or even forty but a hundred is too many. Suppose 
that our consumer has an opportunity to buy his forty-first 
collar very cheaply and is even persuaded to buy ten more 
collars. He now has fifty, ten more than he actually wanted. 
The utility of the extra ten does not equal that of his first 
ten. In other words, the utility of each successive collar is 
less than that of the preceding one. The principle that suc¬ 
cessive units are less and less useful is called the law of 
diminishing utility. This law has a very specific application 
and explains why there is a fairly definite limit to the 
amount of ordinary goods, such as food, clothing, and houses, 
that will be consumed. Although just as true, the applica- 


THE CONSUMPTION OF GOODS 


51 


tion of the law is not so apparent in the case of luxuries for 
the simple reason that so few people are ever able to satisfy 
very many of their desires for such goods. 

Having understood the law of diminishing utility let us 
examine another principle with which it is closely associated, 
namely, the law of marginal utility. Since our consumer, 
mentioned above, owns fifty collars, he naturally sets no 
great value on any one collar. Since the collars are all alike 
and since no one of them is peculiarly valuable, they all 
suffer a lessening of value because there are so many of them 
in relation to the consumer’s real desires. The marginal 
utility of a good is the utility of the least important unit in 
a series. There are so many bushels of wheat that no one 
bushel is particularly valuable and consequently the price 
of all bushels of wheat is low. Just the opposite is true in 
the case of radium. 

Consumption. — Consumption is the process of using goods 
to satisfy human wants. To put the matter more formally, 
consumption is the destruction of utility. The person who 
wears a suit of clothes is destroying its utility; the driver is 
consuming his automobile every time he drives it; and the 
boarder is consuming the food on the dining-room table. 
These are examples of consumption. 

The consumer is the king of the economic world. To 
satisfy his wants land, labor, and capital exert themselves 
to produce the goods which he desires. If the consumer did 
not consume there would be no use for the producer to pro¬ 
duce. In fact, the wants of the consumer determine what 
goods shall be produced and when and where they shall be 
produced. Hence it is necessary for us to examine some 
aspects of consumption. 

Kinds of consumption. — Consumption is the using up of 
utilities. Naturally the process will vary greatly, for one 
can readily see that the consumption of cloth in making a 
shirt is very different from eating a potato or burning a 
house. There are three kinds of consumption. 

The first kind, called direct consumption , is the complete 


52 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


and final destruction of the utility of a good. You are con¬ 
suming food, clothes, paper, pencils, automobiles, houses, 
sidewalks, and railroads. When they are eaten up, worn out, 
or used up, they are gone. They have been consumed com¬ 
pletely. 

The second kind, called productive consumption , is the de¬ 
struction of the utility of one good in order to make or give 
utility to another good. For example, the factory worker 
who cuts the cloth to make a shirt is consuming the cloth, 
but the consumption is not final. In destroying the utility 
of the cloth as cloth the worker is in the process of giving it 
utility in the form of a shirt. The grocer’s truck is being 
worn out, but in the process it is engaged in giving place 
utility to the groceries which he delivers. The consumption 
of goods, then, often means the production of other goods. 

The third kind of consumption is simply destruction. The 
burning of a house is an example of destruction; no human 
wants are satisfied, though the house has been completely con¬ 
sumed. In 1927 the Mississippi River washed many houses 
and a great deal of land away. Wind, fire, and water cause 
enormous losses each year; they are consumers. 

Waste. — Waste may occur in any kind of consumption. 
It may be sheer destruction, uneconomical but productive 
consumption, or unnecessary direct consumption. Again it 
may be not only waste from the economic standpoint but it 
may have a harmful effect upon the consumer. What is or 
is not economic waste is a matter of opinion. Most of us 
would agree, however, that the food eaten beyond our needs 
and the wanton destruction or mutilation of property are 
examples of harmful consumption or waste. Some people 
believe that the whole tobacco industry is an example of 
waste, and others would add that the consumption of the 
product is harmful. The poor laborer’s wife probably re¬ 
gards the finery of her fortunate neighbor as waste. Some 
people regard the display of fireworks on the Fourth of 
July as sheer waste and the extra automobile belonging to 
their neighbor as harmful consumption. 


THE CONSUMPTION OF GOODS 


53 


Some people regard the consumption of trifles, luxuries, 
and injurious goods as not only an economic waste but as 
evidence of the weakening of the moral fiber. It does seem 
that simplicity and a reasonable degree of economy are 
necessary qualities of a good citizen. 

Consumer’s goods.. — Goods which are ready for the con¬ 
sumer are divided into three classes — necessaries, comforts, 
and luxuries. It must be pointed out, however, that people 
will disagree as to how to classify a given article. Most will 
agree that indispensable goods, such as houses, food, and 
clothing, are necessaries. When one tries to say what kind 
of house, what quality of food, and what style of clothing 
are to be regarded as necessaries he will probably be unable 
to secure general agreement. 

Comforts are those goods which are not indispensable but 
which the purchaser can afford to buy. Carpets, telephones, 
pictures, books, and an easy chair would be regarded by some 
people as examples of comforts, although it would be easy to 
show that, under certain circumstances, any one of them is 
a necessary. 

Luxuries are those goods which one can do without but 
which appeal to one’s desires, pride, or vanity. They may 
perhaps best be described as those goods, beyond necessaries, 
which one can scarcely afford. Most luxuries are consumed 
by families that have a considerable margin left after the 
purchase of necessaries. 

Standard of living. — One of the most important factors in 
stimulating the consumption of goods is the standard of 
living. It may be thought of as the accepted amount of 
wealth which one should consume in order to hold his place 
in a given group. The ambitious man wants to have as 
nice a house, as elegant furniture, as good an automobile, 
as expensive clothes, and as many luxuries as his associates 
have. There is thus a concerted agreement to maintain a 
general level in the consumption of goods. Of course, the 
level will vary greatly from group to group and there is 
really no such thing as the standard of living, but there are 


54 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


standards of living. In all cases, however, they tend to cause 
the members of a group to put forth greater efforts in their 
business or profession in order that they might reach the 
acceptable standard of living. 

Economy. — Every family faces the problem of adjusting 
its income to its desires to consume. A reasonable principle 
is to acquire goods in this order — necessaries, comforts, and 
luxuries. The principle is easier to state than to apply. The 
young man may regard a new suit as a necessary, whereas his 
father may call it a luxury. It is possible, however, to point 
out general practices in the matter of spending. 

According to Engels’s Law, as one’s income increases he 
spends a smaller percentage of it on food, a fairly constant 
percentage on clothing, a constant percentage on rent and 
fuel, and an increasing percentage on health, recreation, and 
education. The laborer, for example, may spend forty per 
cent of his income on food, but the well paid business or 
professional man will not need to spend forty per cent of his 
income on food. Thus the more highly paid workers can 
spend a greater percentage of their incomes on education, 
recreation, and luxuries. 

Consumption and progress. — It may seem strange to say 
that the desire to consume is the basis of economic progress, 
but desires lead to economic demands and demands lead to 
production. In order to consume liberally one must produce 
abundantly, and the endless chain of cause and effect is set 
in motion. 

Backward people have few desires. As long as a savage 
is satisfied with his crude surroundings he will make no 
effort to improve his condition. The awakening of desire 
is, then, one of the first steps in economic progress. Ad¬ 
vertising managers realize this truth keenly and so they 
seek to stimulate one’s desires to possess the new or im¬ 
proved article. In truth, the desire to increase one’s con¬ 
sumption plays a large part in our economic and social 
progress. 


THE CONSUMPTION OF GOODS 


55 


Activities and References 
Significant Words and Phrases 

Free and economic goods, utility, elementary utility, form and place and 
time utility, law of diminishing utility, law of marginal utility, consumption, 
direct and productive consumption, waste, harmful consumption, necessaries, 
comforts, luxuries, standard of living, Engels's Law. 


Questions 

1. Define an economic good. 

2. Distinguish economic and free goods. 

3. Define utility. 

4. What is elementary utility? 

5. Illustrate the three kinds of utility in the case of the hammer. 

6. How do economic desires become demands? 

7. Give an example of change in economic demands. 

8. State and illustrate the law of diminishing utility. 

9. State and illustrate the law of marginal utility. 

10. Define consumption and give three examples. 

11. Illustrate each of the three kinds of consumption. 

12. Define waste. Give two examples. 

13. Classify consumer’s goods. 

14. How does the standard of living affect consumption and production? 

15. State Engels’s Law. 

16. What is the relation between the desire to consume and progress? 


Problems 

1. Problem: To appreciate the kinds of utility. Method: Visualize a 
man who urgently needs an automobile jack. He has two excellent 
ones at home, but his rim is resting upon the pavement miles from his 
garage. Explain what type of utility the j acks in his garage do not have. 

2. Problem: To distinguish desires from demands. Method: Suppose a 
poorly paid laborer ardently desires an expensive automobile. Do 
his desires increase the production of automobiles? How might his 
desires become demands? 

3. Problem: To illustrate the law of diminishing utility. Method: 
Visualize a hungry man at the pie counter. Apply the law to pieces 
of pie. 

4. Problem: To illustrate production goods. Method: Explain how a 
hay rake or a cook stove is an example. 


56 PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 

5. Problem: To examine some cases of waste. Method: By observing 
your schoolmates, you may collect several instances of needless con¬ 
sumption. Can you cite five examples from recent observation? 


References 

Bullock, Elements of Economics 

Fay, Elements of Economics 

Janzen and Stephenson, Everyday Economics 

Riley, Economics for Secondary Schools 

Thompson, Elementary Economics 

Williamson, Introduction to Economics 


CHAPTER VI 


f PRODUCING GOODS 

Why work? — Ultimately everyone depends upon work 
for a living. Young children usually live upon the earnings 
of their parents; some so-called genteel people live upon the 
savings of previous generations; but most normal adults 
depend upon their own efforts to secure a living. To make 
a living, then, is the most obvious reason why people work. 
This motive, however, is not entirely selfish, for the desire 
to provide for wife, husband, or children is a strong incentive. 
When the necessaries of life are assured, work is commonly 
continued for the sake of acquiring comforts and luxuries. 

Under a well-regulated legal system these efforts of the in¬ 
dividual also benefit the community, but until he is able to 
support himself and his family, the average individual does 
not consciously make the public interest the chief end of his 
labors. However altruistic a man may be, he will not be 
able to labor consistently in behalf of others, unless he 
thereby serves his own interests as well, or unless his personal 
needs have already been met. 

The old way of making a living. — The economic history 
of eighteenth-century England illustrates two rather distinct 
methods of getting a living, one of which may be called the 
old, and the other the new. Up to about the middle of the 
century, the masses of Englishmen, in common with the 
people of other countries, got a very poor living. Most com¬ 
mon necessaries were made in the home and wholly for family 
use. Shoes, clothing, tools, and similar articles were pro¬ 
duced laboriously and on a small scale. In comparison with 
industrial conditions in the nineteenth century, there was 
at that time little industrial cooperation, little division of 

57 


58 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


labor, little suspicion that men, in spite of hard work, were 
making a very poor living. The trouble was, partly, that 
men had not yet fully realized the possibilities of helping 
one another, and partly that they were ignorant of how to 
make Nature an efficient partner in the task. 

The new way of making a living. — After the middle of 
the eighteenth century the invention of a series of remarkable 
machines enabled Englishmen greatly to increase their pro¬ 
ductivity, first in the manufacture of textiles, and later in 
numerous other industries. By subdividing their labor more 
and more minutely, and by each specializing in the particular 
type of work which he could do best, men found that their 
total output could be greatly increased. This complex di¬ 
vision of labor, made possible by the use of water and steam 
power to run machines and to move vehicles of transporta¬ 
tion, so reduced the difficulty of getting a good living, that it 
constituted a veritable revolution in industry. Indeed, this 
change is known in history as the Industrial Revolution. 

Effects of the Industrial Revolution. — In the last century 
and a half the Industrial Revolution has spread to every 
important civilized country in the world, everywhere en¬ 
couraging the application of machine methods to more and 
more industries. This change from hand production on a 
small scale, to large-scale production in factories equipped 
with complex machines, has had important results. It has 
so increased our control over Nature that even the humblest 
workman of today enjoys many comforts denied kings a 
few centuries ago. On the other hand, the Industrial Revo¬ 
lution has tended to create a numerous class which depends 
entirely upon wages, and to set off against this class an 
employing group which possesses and controls most of the 
equipment of industry. The significance of this last develop¬ 
ment will become clearer as we go along. 

Production defined. — Production is not merely the mak¬ 
ing of material objects. We desire material objects only if 
they will satisfy our wants. The satisfaction of wants, then, 
is the important point. Thus it is clear that the performance 



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PRODUCING GOODS 


59 


of a service, such as teaching or painting, is more important 
than the manufacture of a material object which no one 
wants. Production, then, is the process of satisfying human 
wants. The manufacturer of material objects is productive 
only if someone wants what he makes; he who supplies 
personal or professional service is productive if that service 
satisfies the wants of someone. 



Rank Order of Manufacturing States 

In 1929 there were 210,710 manufacturing establishments in the United States, employ¬ 
ing 8,807,536 wage earners, who turned out products valued at $70,134,459,352. 


Complexity of production. — Three hundred years ago 
most of the commodities in daily use were made, either in 
the home by members of the family, or by small groups of 
artisans working together under relatively simple conditions. 
Today production is a vast and complicated process. To 
the eye of the untrained observer a great mass of factories, 
farms, railroads, mills, machines, ships, and busy laborers 
appears without order and, often, without purpose. The 
task immediately before us is to analyze this mass, and to 
point out the nature of the various factors which contribute 
to the productive power of a community. 














60 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


Nature, a first factor in production. — Nature includes 
all of the materials and forces in the form of land and its 
products, such as oceans, lakes, rivers, rain, humidity, and 
climate. Nature is rather a vague term. The economist 
looks upon land as the most important element in Nature; 
so we may lump together all of the materials and forces of 
Nature and apply the term “land.” 

Taken in this sense, land is clearly of great importance in 
production. We build houses and factories upon it, we use 
it as a basis of transportation, we harness its motive power, 
and we make extensive use of the innumerable raw materials 
which it furnishes. Without land there could be no produc¬ 
tion. 

Labor, a second factor in production. — Something besides 
land or Nature is necessary before our wants can be satisfied. 
Nature is probably indifferent to our needs and desires. 
True, she offers us berries, coal, firewood, and many other 
commodities which are practically ready to use, but even 
these articles will not satisfy our wants unless we go to the 
trouble to secure possession of them. In an important sense 
Nature is passive, and if she is to furnish us with a living, 
we must engage in labor. This labor may be mental or 
physical; the important point is that it is effort under¬ 
taken to increase our control over Nature. Savages are 
content to use products in substantially the form in which 
Nature provides them; civilized peoples work over her prod¬ 
ucts until their utility or want-satisfying power has been 
greatly increased. Man’s living improves as he progresses 
from indolence to hard physical labor, then from hard physi¬ 
cal labor alone to a combination of physical and mental 
labor intelligently directed. 

Capital, a third factor in production. — Land to furnish 
raw materials, and man to make use of those materials — 
what more is necessary? Nothing else would be necessary 
if all of Nature’s gifts were readily accessible, and if man 
unaided could make the best use of them. But she hides 
or disguises many of her treasures, and man is physically 


PRODUCING GOODS 


61 


weak. Hence he has hit upon the device of making tools to 
help him in his contest with Nature. During the period of 
the Industrial Revolution many simple tools were supplanted 
by complicated devices run by power and called engines and 
machines. To the economist, tools and similar devices are a 
form of capital, capital being defined as everything which 
man has created in order to help in further production . 1 
The fashioning of hammers and saws, the construction of 
railways, and the manufacture of machinery, all these opera¬ 
tions create capital. The systematic creation and use of 
capital is one of the distinguishing features of modern civiliza¬ 
tion. The laborer alone can produce little; aided by capital 
he can produce much. Capital is not important if one 
is willing to live like a savage; but it is indispensable if 
one wishes to enjoy the benefits of civilization. 

Coordination, a fourth factor in production. — Land, labor, 
and capital are factors in production. Two hundred years 
ago nothing else was essential to production. The average 
individual had his own land, produced his own tools or 
capital, and relied chiefly or entirely upon his own labor. 

But the Industrial Revolution enlarged and complicated 
production. It created an industrial system in which the 
individual is generally a specialist, producing a surplus of his 
one product, but dependent upon numerous other persons 
for most of the things which he personally consumes. To¬ 
day, for example, there are numerous individuals raising 
cattle, the hides of which are to be made into shoes; other 
individuals are perfecting means of transportation so that 
those hides may be carried to market; still other persons 
concern themselves only with the building of factories or 
with the manufacture of machines with which to work those 
hides into shoes. These various individuals and groups may 
never see each other; nevertheless they aid one another. 

The secret of this often unseen and unconscious cooperation 
is that there are individuals who specialize in the work of 

1 Land has not been created by man but is a gift of Nature. Land, 
therefore, is not a form of capital. 


62 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


connecting up, or coordinating, the other factors which are 
necessary to the production of shoes. These individuals, 
about whom we shall have more to say in another chapter, 
constitute an important economic group. They coordinate, 
in the example given above, the cattle grower, the railroad 
manager, the tanner, the factory builder, and the manu¬ 
facturer and thus make possible a kind of national or even 
international cooperation which would otherwise be impos¬ 
sible. Those whose function it is to promote this cooperation 
are, therefore, indispensable factors in modern production. 

Government, a fifth factor in production. — A cursory ex¬ 
amination of modern industry would convince the observer 
that land, labor, capital, and coordination are important fac¬ 
tors in production. There is, in addition, a factor which is so 
fundamental and of such essential value that it is sometimes 
overlooked altogether. This is the work of the government 
in protecting productive enterprises. Government aids in 
production by suppressing theft, violence, and fraud; by 
allowing individuals to engage in helpful businesses; by en¬ 
forcing contracts entered into legally; and by punishing many 
kinds of monopolistic abuses. The whole fabric of American 
prosperity is built upon the foundation of law and order. 

Summary and forecast. — Production in the economic 
sense consists in doing that which will satisfy human wants. 
Modern production is a vast and complicated process, involv¬ 
ing the cooperation of five factors: land, labor, capital, co¬ 
ordination, and government. In a later chapter we shall 
find that there are wide differences of opinion as to the 
relative importance of some of these factors. We shall find, 
indeed, that the most vital economic problems which con¬ 
front American democracy depend for their solution upon a 
clear understanding of the facts stated or implied in this 
chapter. The student ought not, therefore, to accept hastily 
the statement that land, labor, capital, coordination, and 
government are necessary in production, but ought rather to 
reason out just how and why each is actually helpful in 
American industry. 


PRODUCING GOODS 


63 


In the next three chapters we shall examine in more detail 
the three great factors of land, labor, and capital. 


Activities and References 
Significant Words and Phrases 

Necessaries, luxuries, division of labor, Industrial Revolution, production, 
land, labor, capital, cooperation. 


Questions 

1. Do people work entirely for selfish reasons? Explain. 

2. What are ten necessaries in your home? Would some people regard 

some of the ten as luxuries? 

3. What was the Industrial Revolution? How has it increased comforts? 

4. What two groups were created by the Industrial Revolution? 

5. Define production. Does the producer always make something? 

6. Name seven elements included in the term land. 

7. Is Nature kind or unkind? 

8. What is capital? Give four examples. 

9. Illustrate cooperation in the process of supplying you with an orange 

for breakfast. 

10. In what sense is government a factor in production? 

Problems 

1. Problem: To see an example of the division of labor. Method: Visit a 
factory and note what a small part of the total process each workman 
performs. Does he do the work more skilfully because of this minute 
division of labor? Does he take great pride in his work? 

2. Problem: To learn how various occupation groups participate in the 
five factors of production. Method: Consider the merchant, mechanic, 
and doctor. Does the merchant derive his income from land, labor, 
capital, coordination, or government? (Obviously the merchant must 
have some capital and he must work; so his income is derived from 
two factors.) 

3. Problem: To appreciate the importance of the new way of making a 
living. Method: Select the five greatest inventions since 1890 and show 
how each one has changed the method by which a considerable number 
of people make a living. 


64 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


References 

Adams, Description of Industry 

Carver, Elementary Economics 

Janzen and Stephenson, Everyday Economics 

Thompson, Elementary Economics 

Williamson, Introduction to Economics 

-, Readings in American Democracy 


CHAPTER VII 


CONSERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES 

Meaning. — Conservation is for society what savings are 
for the individual. No one doubts the desirability of saving; 
so no thoughtful person can deny the desirability of conser¬ 
vation for the sake of society. Conservation may be applied 
to human life, to health, and to land, which includes natural 
resources. In this chapter we shall examine the conserva¬ 
tion of natural resources in the United States. 

Attitude of the early settler toward natural resources. — 
The chief concern of the early American settler was to turn 
a virgin continent into homes as quickly and as easily as 
possible. During the seventeenth, eighteenth, and most of 
the nineteenth century our natural resources were very 
abundant, while labor and capital were relatively scarce. 
As the settlers spread across the Appalachians and into the 
great West, it was to be expected, therefore, that the home¬ 
maker should use labor and capital as carefully as possible 
and that he should use generously such resources as forests, 
water power, and soil fertility. Little blame attaches to the 
early settler for this attitude; indeed he acted in accordance 
with sound economic law. This economic law declares that 
under any particular set of circumstances factors of produc¬ 
tion should be carefully used in proportion as they are 
scarce, and generously used in proportion as they are abun¬ 
dant. 

Results of this attitude. — The rapid settlement of the 
West was essential to our national unity and development. 
Nevertheless, the extensive and even lavish use of natural 
wealth since colonial times has lately called attention to the 
scarcity of resources formerly considered over-abundant. 

65 


66 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


More than three-fourths of our original forest area has been 
culled, cut over, or burned, since colonial times. Wholesale 
logging methods have swept vast areas bare of valuable 
timber. Careless cutting has wasted a quarter of our timber 
supply. In the lumber mill about 40 per cent of the entire 
volume of the logs is lost by wasteful methods of work. 
Since 1870 forest fires have annually destroyed more than 
$50,000,000 worth of timber. Altogether our timber supply 
is diminishing three or four times as fast as we are replenish¬ 
ing it. 

By holding sod in place, forests furnish a sponge-like reser¬ 
voir which absorbs rainfall and then retains it sufficiently to 
insure that it will be paid out only gradually. The process 
of cutting down forests, called deforestation, destroys the 
sod, so that streams formerly fed from forested areas by a 
steady process became dangerously swollen in certain seasons 
and greatly reduced in size at other times. One effect of this 
alternation of freshets with abnormally dry periods is a loss 
of steady and dependable water power. 

Deforestation has also an injurious effect upon agriculture. 
When heavy rains wash valuable surface soil from the tops 
and sides of hills these denuded areas are rendered less 
valuable for grazing, while the over-abundance of top soil 
in the valleys retards effective cultivation. Agriculture also 
suffers from the fact that streams which would ordinarily 
furnish a steady supply of irrigation water are often either 
in a state of flood or practically dried up. 

Despite the excellent work done by the Department of 
Agriculture, American farming methods are in many sections 
of the country both careless and wasteful. The abundance 
of land in past years seemed to justify our free use of it, 
nevertheless such use has in many cases resulted in a serious 
loss of fertility. Careless tillage and a failure to rotate crops 
have resulted in a heavy loss of nitrogen, potassium, phos¬ 
phorus, and other essential soil elements. 

Heretofore we have used coal very lavishly. Often as much 
coal has been wasted as has been mined. Mining corpora- 


CONSERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES 67 

tions have often neglected low-grade coal deposits, and have 
abandoned mines without having first removed all of the 
accessible high-grade coal. Imperfect combustion, both in 
dwellings and in industrial establishments, is said to waste 
more than a third of our coal, as well as creating a costly 
and injurious smoke nuisance. Our consumption of coal has 
been doubling every ten years. In view of the fact that our 
coal deposits are limited, this increasing consumption is a 
serious development, in spite of the present over-production. 

Iron, too, has been used wastefully. The bog iron deposits 
of the Atlantic coast were used up before 1800, and as the 
result of an intense industrial development since 1850, the 
supply of high-grade ores is being speedily diminished. Oil 
and gas have been used lavishly, and even, in some cases, 
deliberately wasted. 

High prices. — The lavish use of natural resources which 
has characterized the American people since colonial times 
has been an important factor in the cost of living. In early 
days there was an abundance of resources and few people 
to use them; at present the supply of many of our resources 
is greatly diminished, and there is a much larger population 
seeking to use them. In the case of every natural resource 
the supply is either limited or is failing to increase as rapidly 
as are the demands upon it. The result is higher prices for 
coal, wood, iron, oil, gas, and similar commodities. It is 
at least partly due to the heavy drain upon our resources 
that the cost of building homes, heating them, feeding the 
population, and carrying on the varied activities of American 
industry has increased. 

Monopoly. — Throughout the history of our natural re¬ 
sources there has been a strong tendency toward monopoly. 
Natural resources should be safeguarded for the benefit of 
the people as a whole, yet much of our natural wealth has 
been monopolized by individuals. Four-fifths of our timber 
lands are privately owned, and of that four-fifths about half 
is controlled by 250 companies. Two-thirds of the developed 
water power in this country is controlled by a small group 


68 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


of power interests. Defective land laws, the lax administra¬ 
tion of good laws, and extravagant land grants to railroads 
have allowed private fortunes to be built up without a pro¬ 
portionate advantage to the public. Coal and petroleum 
deposits are controlled largely by a few corporations, while 
a heavy percentage of our copper and iron deposits is in 
private hands. 

The conservation movement. — After the middle of the 
nineteenth century the growing scarcity of many natural 
resources called attention to the need of conserving them. 
Conservation means to utilize economically, rather than to 
hoard. It means, furthermore, that resources should be used 
so that both the present and future generations will reap a 
proper benefit from America’s great natural gifts. Thus con¬ 
servation seeks, Mr. Van Hise once said, “the greatest good 
to the greatest number, and for the longest time.” The 
dawn of the conservation idea stimulated a reaction against 
the careless administration of natural resources. Toward the 
end of the nineteenth century, there was an increasing 
amount of legislation encouraging the legitimate use of 
natural resources on the one hand, and repressing monopoly 
on the other. After the opening of the twentieth century 
interest in conservation increased. In 1908 President Roose¬ 
velt called a conference of the governors of the various states 
for the purpose of considering this vital problem, and from 
that meeting dates a definite and nation-wide conservation 
policy in this country. 

Some of the effects of this changing attitude toward natural 
resources many now be noted. 

Forests and water power. — In 1891 a Federal law pro¬ 
vided for a system of national forest reservations. These 
reservations now include about one-fifth of our forests, and 
are steadily extending their limits. There are now 150 na¬ 
tional forests, a few of which are east of the Mississippi. A 
vast project is now under way to acquire millions of acres 
in the Great Smoky Mountains of eastern Tennessee for 
another national forest. Many of the states also own forest 


CONSERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES 


69 


lands. Massachusetts and New York have embarked upon 
a policy of forestation. Forest reserves under the control 
of the individual states now total more than 10,000,000 
acres. Since 1897 there has been a Bureau of Forestry which 
has performed invaluable services. Forest fires have been 
reduced, denuded areas have been reforested, forest cutting 
has been controlled, and a constructive program of forest 
culture developed. 

Of late years there has been an increasing use of dams and 
reservoirs for the storage of flood waters and the develop¬ 
ment of water power. This regulation of streams gives a 
uniform flow of water both for navigation and for irrigation 
purposes. Great power plants have been completed on vari¬ 
ous rivers. Some of the best known ones are Muscle Shoals, 
Keokuk, Dix River in Kentucky, and the great plant on the 
Osage River in Missouri. Much opposition, however, has 
arisen to the granting of power rights to private companies. 
The request to use Cumberland Falls in eastern Kentucky 
was refused. The spirit of the conservation of natural beauty 
is becoming more manifest. 

The land. — The desire to encourage the home-maker has 
long been the motive power behind our public land policy, 
but unfortunately many of our earlier land laws did not pre¬ 
vent speculators and large corporations from fraudulently 
securing control of land intended for the bona fide or genuine 
settler. Within the last quarter of a century our land laws 
have been reorganized, with the double aim of doing justice 
to this type of settler, and of suppressing speculation and 
monopoly. As the result of Land Office investigations in 
1913, more than 800,000 acres were returned to the public 
domain, on the ground that they had been secured through 
fraud. 

The Department of Agriculture has steadily extended its 
scope. Better methods of cultivation, lessons in soil chem¬ 
istry, and experiments with new and special crops have helped 
conserve the resources of the land. An elaborate system of 
experiment stations has been built up since 1887. The 


70 PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 

Weather Bureau in the Department of Agriculture saves 
a great deal of property annually by sending out warnings 
of frost, storm, and flood. 

Reclamation is increasingly important. New crops are 
being developed for the semi-arid areas of the West. Swamp 
lands in the East and South are being drained. Levees and 
breakwaters along the Mississippi are helping to prevent the 
loss of arable land through the river’s changes in course. 

Even more important is the irrigation movement. In 1894 
the Carey Act gave Federal encouragement to several western 
states in irrigation projects, and in 1902 the Reclamation Act 
provided for the construction of irrigation works under the 
direction of the Secretary of the Interior. Several great 
dams have been constructed, notably the Roosevelt, Arrow- 
rock, and Hoover, some of which provide water for power 
as well as for irrigation. 

Contrary to popular opinion, the United States still owns 
immense tracks of the public domain, amounting to more 
than 300,000 square miles, an area larger than the state of 
Texas. It is true that the land is of slight value, and con¬ 
sequently no one has taken up claims on it. In 1929 Presi¬ 
dent Hoover suggested that the remainder of the public 
lands be given to the states, but many students of conserva¬ 
tion have opposed the recommendation. 

Minerals. — Until 1873 coal lands were disposed of on 
practically the same terms as agricultural lands. But after 
that date laws restricting the purchase of coal lands began 
to be increasingly severe. In 1910 Congress withdrew from 
public sale nearly 100,000,000 acres of coal, petroleum, and 
phosphate lands. At the present time the discovery of coal 
on land secured by settlers for purely farming purposes en¬ 
titles the government to dispose of the coal desposits under 
special conditions. There is also a tendency for the govern¬ 
ment to demand higher prices of individuals buying public 
coal lands. 

In some quarters there is a demand that all coal lands be 
leased rather than sold. The Federal government has not 


CONSERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES 


71 


yet yielded to this demand, but Colorado and Wyoming now 
lease rather than sell their coal lands. Under the lease 
system in these states, the state retains ownership, but allows 
private individuals a definite commission per ton on coal 
mined. The lease system is also advocated in the case of 
lands containing iron, oil, and gas deposits, because it safe¬ 
guards the interests of the public and at the same time allows 
the mining corporations a fair profit. 

Reasons for optimism. — In spite of the appalling waste 
which has been characteristic of our administration of natural 
resources, the outlook is distinctly encouraging. Resources 
used by past generations are gone forever, but at last we 
are making rapid strides in conserving what is left. Not only 
this, but we are perfecting plans for an increased supply of 
those resources which can be replenished. 

The admirable work of our Forest Service promises not 
only to reduce the present waste of wood products, but 
actually to increase the supply of timber. The service de¬ 
serves high praise both for its work in saving and replenish¬ 
ing forests, and for its wise handling of forest problems in¬ 
volving other resources. “By reasonable thrift,” runs a 
report of the Forest Service, “we can produce a constant 
timber supply beyond our present need, and with it conserve 
the usefulness of our streams for irrigation, water supply, 
navigation, and power.” 

The irreplaceable character of our mineral deposits, to¬ 
gether with the tendency for large industrial interests to 
monopolize minerals, has greatly stimulated the conserva¬ 
tion of these resources. A valuable step forward has been 
the reclassification of public lands to allow of special treat¬ 
ment of lands containing mineral deposits. Coal is still used 
lavishly, but nine-tenths of our original deposits are still in 
existence. Furthermore, water power, electricity, and other 
substitutes for coal are being developed. Our high grade 
iron ores will be exhausted in a few decades, but an iron 
shortage may be prevented by more careful mining, the use 
of low grade ores, and the use of substitutes. 


72 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


Different resources call for different treatment. — A wise 
conservation policy will take note of the fact that different 
resources call for different types of treatment. Coal, pe¬ 
troleum, oil, and gas are limited in extent and are practically 
irreplaceable. These should be taken from the earth and 
utilized as economically as possible. The same is true of the 
metallic minerals, such as iron and copper, though here the 
use of substitutes is of greater importance than in the case 
of non-metallic minerals. 

Water can best be conserved by the wise development of 
water power sites, and by the careful utilization of streams. 

Forests may be renewed, but slowly. Their conservation 
requires the prevention of fires, the reduction of waste in 
cutting and milling, the use of by-products, and scientific 
reforestation. 

Soil elements may also be renewed, though slowly and with 
difficulty. Reforestation prevents erosion and thus conserves 
soil fertility. Systems of crop rotation designed to retain 
nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus are valuable. 

Some conservation needs. — The above considerations in¬ 
dicate some of our conservation needs. It is believed by most 
students of conservation that the Federal forest holdings 
should be extended and consolidated. There is need for more 
stringent forest fire regulations, especially in the case of 
private forests. In order to reforest the denuded areas and 
to grow timber scientifically some such plan as the German 
system of forest culture might be adopted. There is urgent 
need of a systematic development of our inland waterways. 
The construction of more dams and reservoirs, the dredging 
of rivers and harbors, the coordination of canals and inland 
waterways, and the improvement of the Mississippi-Great 
Lakes system, all these would be helpful measures. Irriga¬ 
tion and other reclamation projects, including the drainage 
of swamp lands, should be developed systematically. Ameri¬ 
can farming methods ought still further to be improved. 
We are in need of laws penalizing wasteful methods of mining 
and prohibiting uneconomical methods of combustion. Prob- 


CONSERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES 73 

ably the system of leasing rather than selling mineral lands 
should be extended. 

A last vital need in conservation is cooperation between 
state and Federal authorities, and between private individ¬ 
uals and public agencies. This is of great importance. 
Where rivers course through several states, and where forest 
fires in one section threaten adjacent forest areas, cooperation 
must be secured. The Governors’ Conference of 1908 stim¬ 
ulated cooperation between the states and the Federal gov¬ 
ernment, and since 1909 the National Conservation Associa¬ 
tion has been a means of coordinating the work of all persons 
and agencies interested in conservation. There is still, how¬ 
ever, little cooperation between state or Federal governments 
on the one hand, and private owners on the other. It is a 
matter of special regret that although four-fifths of our forests 
are privately owned, both fire prevention and scientific for¬ 
estry are little developed on private estates. 

The question of administration. — Though it is conceded 
on all sides that our natural resources ought to be utilized 
economically, there is much discussion as to whether the 
states or the Federal government ought to dominate the 
conservation movement. 

Those favoring the extension of Federal control over con¬ 
servation point out that forest control, irrigation, conserva¬ 
tion of water power, and similar projects are distinctly 
interstate in character, and are thus properly a Federal 
function. Federal administration is said to be necessary in 
order to insure fair treatment of different localities. Finally, 
it is maintained, the states have either neglected the question 
of conservation, or have handled it in their own interests 
rather than with regard to the national welfare. 

A strong party maintains, on the other hand, that conser¬ 
vation is primarily a state function. The movement is said 
to be too large for the Federal government to handle. It is 
contended that there is no specific warrant in the Constitu¬ 
tion for the Federal control of conservation. It is also 
claimed that Federal administration of natural resources has 


74 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


been accompanied by waste and inefficiency. Conservation 
is said to be a local question, best administered by those most 
interested in the problem, and, by reason of their proximity 
to it, most familiar with it. 

The problem of administration is a difficult one. In a 
number of cases the claims for and against Federal control 
are obviously sound. But from the standpoint of the public 
the whole matter is of secondary importance: the problem 
of administration ought to be decided on the basis of what 
is best under particular circumstances. Some phases of 
conservation are probably best looked after by the states, 
others by the Federal government, still others by the state 
and Federal governments jointly. The problem of con¬ 
flicting authority ought somehow to be solved. Conserva¬ 
tion is too vital a matter to be hampered by the question of 
method or means. 


Activities and References 

Significant Words and Phrases 

Conservation, monopoly, public domain, cooperation, natural resources, 
deforestation, denuded areas, Van Hise, power rights, national forests, state 
forests, power sites. 

Questions 

1. What was the attitude of the early settler toward natural resources? 

2. Discuss the growing scarcity of natural resources. 

3. What is the relation of lavish use of natural resources to the cost of 

living? 

4. What part has monopoly played in the history of our natural resources? 

5. Describe the origin and early development of the conservation move¬ 

ment. 

6. Outline the conservation of forests and water power. 

7. How is land being conserved? 

8. What is the purpose of the Reclamation Act of 1902? 

9. What measures have recently been taken to safeguard our mineral 

deposits? 

10. Why may the present outlook for conservation be said to be optimistic? 

11. Outline our conservation needs. 


CONSERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES 


75 


12. Why is cooperation essential to the conservation movement? 

13. Give the chief arguments for and against Federal administration of 

conservation. 

Problems 

1. Problem: To learn how the natural resources of your state have been 
utilized. Method: List the minerals which are or have been mined, the 
water power sites which have been utilized, and the percentage of land 
which has been utilized. Were any of the resources wasted? 

2. Problem: To learn some principles of conservation. Method: List 
those found in Williamson’s Readings in American Democracy, 410-412. 

3. Problem: To visualize some details of conservation. Method: In the 
Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee there are signs, “Don’t pick 
wild flowers.” In northern Minnesota there are signs, “Don’t throw 
cigarette stubs”; in Massachusetts, “Break your match.” In what 
ways are these signs related to the conservation movement? 

4. Problem: To imagine the work of a forest ranger. Method: Suppose 
yourself a forest ranger. Write an imaginary journal of your work. 
Base it on some actual information. 

References 

Arnold, Problems in American Life 

Eldridge and Clark, Major Problems of Democracy 

Towne, Social Problems 

Williamson, Readings in American Democracy 


CHAPTER VIII 


PROBLEMS OF LABOR 

Labor and capital. — Strictly speaking, five distinct factors 
are involved in production: land, labor, capital, coordination, 
and government. As a matter of fact, we are accustomed to 
speak of the immediate conduct of industry as involving only 
two factors: labor and capital. Used in this sense, the term 
labor refers to the masses of hired workmen, while the term 
capital is held to include not only the individual who has 
money to invest, i.e. the capitalist proper, but also the en¬ 
trepreneur, or managing employer. 

Labor and capital cooperate actively in production, while 
the other factors remain somewhat in the background. As 
we have seen, both labor and capital are essential to indus¬ 
try, and fundamentally their interests are reciprocal. But in 
spite of this basic harmony, there are many points of dif¬ 
ference and antagonism between labor and capital. This 
chapter discusses the more important of these disagreements, 
and outlines some suggested methods of reducing or eliminat¬ 
ing them. 

The factory system and the laborer. — Wherever it has 
penetrated, the Industrial Revolution has caused large num¬ 
bers of landless laborers to enter industrial establishments 
controlled by relatively few employers. Very early in the de¬ 
velopment of the factory system, the laborer saw that he was 
at a relative disadvantage in bargaining with employers. Not 
only does the average laborer lack funds to tide him over a 
long period of unemployment, but the fact that his labor is 
generally his sole reliance obliges him to secure work at all 
hazards. The anxiety and discontent of laborers have been 
increased by the realization that the factory system affords 

76 


PROBLEMS OF LABOR 


77 


little opportunity for the average workman to rise to the posi¬ 
tion of an employer. Most laborers are unable to secure 
either the training or the capital necessary to set themselves 
up as independent business men. 

Rise of labor organizations. — The risks and limitations 
which the factory system imposes upon the laboring classes 
have encouraged workmen to organize for the purpose of 
promoting their mutual interests. The individual gains, it 
has been found, when his interests are supported by a group 
of workmen acting as a unit and bringing their united pres¬ 
sure to bear upon the employer. The labor organization has 
been the result of this discovery. A labor organization may 
be defined as a more or less permanent and continuous asso¬ 
ciation of wage earners, entered into for the purpose of im¬ 
proving the conditions of their employment. * 

The first labor organizations in the United States were 
formed early in the nineteenth century, but it was not until 
about 1850 that the trade union assumed national impor¬ 
tance. After 1850, however, and particularly after the Civil 
War, the trade union grew rapidly. In 1881 a number of 
national trade unions combined to form the American Fed¬ 
eration of Labor. This body, while exercising no real au¬ 
thority over the trade unions comprising it, is nevertheless 
an important agency in coordinating trade union policies 
throughout the country. It is important, also, as a means of 
formulating and expressing the aims and ideals of the working 
classes. The Federation had a membership of 2,604,701 in 
1914, 4,500,000 in 1920, and 3,461,096 in 1930. With the 
exception of the railroad brotherhoods, nearly all of the im¬ 
portant trade unions in the country are affiliated with the 
American Federation of Labor. 

Rise of employers' associations. — The growing power 
of the trade union after 1850 stimulated the growth of em¬ 
ployers’ associations. In 1886 the first national employers’ 
association was organized under the name of the Stove 
Founders’ National Defence Association. Later there was 
formed a number of other important associations, including 


78 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


the National Association of Manufacturers, and more re¬ 
cently associations of power, automobile, and radio com¬ 
panies. 

The primary purpose of the employers’ association is the 
protection of the employers’ interests against trade union 
aggression. Some of the associations are frankly hostile to 
the trade union movement, while others take the stand that 
the organization of laborers is undesirable only if the power 
of the trade union is abused. The promotion of friendly 
relations between labor and capital is increasingly an im¬ 
portant concern of the employers’ association. 

What the trade union wants. — One of the basic aims of 
the trade union is either to raise wages or to prevent their 
reduction. Because of the constant shiftings of supply and 
demand, the prices of commodities are rarely stationary for 
very long. Over any extended period of time prices are either 
rising or falling. During a period of rising prices the work¬ 
men are at a relative disadvantage, 1 because they have to 
pay for commodities higher prices than they had anticipated 
when they contracted to work for a definite wage. In such 
a case, the union attempts to secure higher wages for its 
members. When, on the other hand, prices are falling, the 
workmen gain, because they do not have to pay as high prices 
as they anticipated. In this latter case, the laborers at¬ 
tempt to maintain their advantage by opposing any reduction 
in wages. 

The desire of the trade unions to improve the general con¬ 
dition of the working classes has steadily widened the pro¬ 
gram of organized labor. Shorter hours and better conditions 
of work are important trade union demands. Unions quite 
generally approve the principle of a minimum wage, 2 at least 
for women and child workers. Formerly, and to some extent 
even now, the unions have opposed the introduction of labor- 
saving machinery on the grounds that it displaces workmen 

1 Rising prices affect all who purchase commodities, of course, but 
here we are intent upon the position of the laborer only. 

2 The principle of the minimum wage is discussed later in this chapter. 


PROBLEMS OF LABOR 


79 


and hence causes unemployment. Union members generally 
prefer to be paid by the hour or by the day, rather than so 
much per unit of product. The reason given for the prefer¬ 
ence is that strain and undue fatigue often result from piece¬ 
work , as the system of pay on the basis of units of product is 
called. Trade unions universally demand that employers 
recognize the principle of collective bargaining, by which is 
meant the privilege of workmen dealing with the employer 
collectively or through the union. Very often, also, the 
unions demand the closed shop, that is to say, a shop from 
which all non-union employees are excluded. 

What the employer wants. — Price movements likewise 
affect the employer. But whereas the laborer is at a rela¬ 
tive disadvantage when prices are rising, the employer tends 
to gain, for the reason that he secures for his product higher 
prices than he had expected. 1 Suppose, for example, that a 
shoe manufacturer can make a profit if a pair of shoes sells for 
$4.00. If later the price rises to $5.00 and his expenses re¬ 
main stationary or very nearly so, he reaps an unusually 
large profit. And whereas in a period of falling prices the 
laborer tends to gain, the employer often loses heavily, for 
the reason that he must sell at a relatively low price goods 
produced at a relatively high cost. If, in the case given 
above, the price of the pair of shoes falls from $4.00 to $3.00 
while the expenses of the manufacturer remains stationary, 
or very nearly so, he may make little or no profit. Thus 
while prices are rising the employer attempts to maintain 
his advantage by resisting an increase in wages, while in a 
period of falling prices he seeks to cut down his expenses by 
reducing wages. In either case the immediate interests of 
workmen and employer are antagonistic. 

Just as the growing complexity of the industrial situation 
has enlarged the trade union program, so the aims of em¬ 
ployers have steadily increased in number and in importance. 
On the grounds that it restricts the fullest utilization of his 

1 In a period of rising prices, the employer’s costs also tend to rise, 
but generally not so rapidly as do prices. 


80 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


plant, the employer very often objects to a shortening of the 
working day, even where there is a corresponding decrease in 
the day-wage. Some employers are unwilling to provide san¬ 
itary workshops for their employees, or otherwise to improve 
the conditions of employment* The employer generally ob¬ 
jects to the minimum wage, as constituting an interference 
with his “right” to offer workmen what wages he chooses. 
Collective bargaining is accepted by many employers, but 
many others insist upon the right to hire and discharge men 
as they see fit, without being forced to consider the wishes of 
the union. Employers often oppose the closed shop, and 
insist upon the open shop, an open shop being defined as one 
in which workmen are employed without regard to whether 
or not they are members of a union. 

Methods of industrial warfare. — Both capital and labor 
back up their demands by a powerful organization using a 
variety of weapons. The trade union generally attempts to 
enforce its demands by threat of, or use of, the strike. A 
strike is a concerted stoppage of work initiated by the work¬ 
men as a group. Sometimes accompanying the strike is the 
boycott , which may be defined as a concerted avoidance of 
business relations with one or more employers, or with those 
who sympathize with those employers. The strike is gen¬ 
erally accompanied by the practice of picketing , by which is 
meant the posting of union agents whose duty it is to attempt 
to persuade non-union workmen not to fill the places of the 
striking workmen. Pickets may also attempt to persuade 
customers not to patronize the employer against whom a 
strike has been launched. Sometimes picketing leads to in¬ 
timidation and violence on the part of either strikers or repre¬ 
sentatives of the employers. 

In turn, the employer may employ a variety of weapons 
against workmen with whom he cannot agree. An employer 
may make use of the lockout, that is, he may refuse to allow 
his labor force to continue at work. Many employers also 
use the blacklist, i.e. the circulation of information among em¬ 
ployers for the purpose of forewarning one another against 


PROBLEMS OF LABOR 


81 


the employment of certain designated workmen. The em¬ 
ployer may also attempt to end a strike by persuading non¬ 
union men to fill the places vacated by the strikers. Such 
men as accept are known as strike-breakers. On the plea 
that the strike may result in the destruction of his property, 
the employer may resort to the injunction. This is an order 
secured from a court which restrains certain laborers in the 
employer’s interest. 

The cost of industrial warfare. — The struggles of labor 
against capital constitute a species of warfare which involves 
the general public. Regardless of whether a particular dis¬ 
pute ends in favor of the laborers or the employer, every 
strike, lockout, or other interference with industrial coopera¬ 
tion lessens the amount of consumable goods in existence. 
Thus aside from the fact that industrial warfare encourages 
class antagonisms, it is an important cause of the relative 
scarcity of goods, and the resulting tendency of prices to 
rise. Often great injury results from a dispute which origi¬ 
nally was of small proportions. In 1902, for example, the an¬ 
thracite coal strike cost the country more than $100,000,000, 
though the strike had been initiated because of a local dispute 
over recognition of the union. In 1919, when we were suffer¬ 
ing from a general scarcity of goods, there occurred in this 
country more than three thousand strikes, involving a loss of 
more than $2,000,000,000 in decreased production. During 
the year 1930 there were fewer strikes than in any year since 
1916. Only 592 real disputes occurred, and only 152,085 
workers were involved. 

Some methods of industrial peace. — Various systems of 
bonuses and pensions have temporarily improved the position 
of some groups of workmen, but experience has proven both 
bonuses and pensions to be limited in scope. Employers are 
often unwilling to adopt such devices as these, while the 
laborers frequently regard them as paternalistic measures 
which at best are a poor substitute for the higher wages to 
which they consider themselves entitled. Existing evils are 
often lessened by welfare work, which includes such measures 


82 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


as the establishment of schools, libraries, and playgrounds 
for the laborers. But in many cases welfare work is initiated 
by the employer for the purpose of diverting the attention 
of the workmen from their fundamental grievances, and for 
this reason it is often opposed by the workmen. All of the 
measures enumerated in this section are of more or less value, 
but as methods of combating industrial warfare, they have 
proved to be palliative, rather than remedial or preventive. 

The trade agreement. — In some industries there is a 
growing tendency for employers not only to recognize the 
union, but also to make a collective contract, or trade agree¬ 
ment, with the unionized workmen. The trade agreement 
may lead to the formation of councils in which representatives 
of both workmen and employer attempt to reach a friendly 
agreement upon disputed matters. The trade agreement has 
been particularly successful in many industries in England. 
In this country it is best known in the soft coal mining in¬ 
dustry in eastern United States, and in the needle trades of 
New York City. On the whole, the trade agreement has not 
been markedly successful in the United States. Although it 
smoothes out minor differences, the unions still prefer to 
back their more important demands by use of the strike. 

Voluntary arbitration. — Since 1898 the several states have 
been giving an increasing amount of attention to the creation 
of boards of industrial conciliation, mediation, and arbitra¬ 
tion. 1 Most states now have some provision for a board 
whose duty it is to attempt to eliminate industrial warfare. 
The powers and duties of these boards vary from state to 
state. In some states the board may investigate labor dis¬ 
putes on its own initiative, but it is not obliged to make an 
investigation. In other states the investigation of industrial 
disputes is compulsory. 

1 The words conciliation, mediation, and arbitration are variously 
used, but the following distinction may be of use. Mediation is an attempt 
to get the disputants to come together for the purpose of discussing their 
grievances. Conciliation is aid extended to the disputants in the actual 
settlement of the dispute. Arbitration implies that a third party settles 
the dispute and renders a decision. 


PROBLEMS OF LABOR 


83 


Boards of the type discussed in this section have no power 
to compel the disputants to arbitrate their troubles, though 
they may persuade the parties involved to resort to arbitra¬ 
tion. When the disputants agree to allow the state board to 
arbitrate the dispute, and when also they previously promise 
to abide by the decision of the board, the award of the state 
board is binding upon both sides. When the parties to the dis¬ 
pute have not previously agreed to abide by the award, the 
board cannot force an acceptance of its decision, but can only 
rely upon public sentiment to help effect a just settlement. 

Compulsory arbitration in the United States. — Although 
the principle of compulsory arbitration has been familiar to 
American students of labor problems for more than a quarter 
of a century, there is as yet very little sentiment in favor of 
its application to industrial disputes in this country. The 
explanation of this is not far to seek. Individualism is so 
strong in the United States that compulsory arbitration is 
regarded by many Americans as an unwarranted interference 
in private business. It is still generally true that both labor 
and capital prefer to settle their disputes in open struggle. 
Equally important, perhaps, is the feeling that compulsory 
arbitration laws would nullify the constitutional guarantee 
that no citizen shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property 
without due process of law. The one instance, in Kansas, 
in which compulsory arbitration was tried proved to be 
unsatisfactory. 

Industry and health. — Wherever the Industrial Revolu¬ 
tion has progressed beyond the initial stages, there has been 
an enormous increase in wealth and prosperity. At the 
same time, serious evils have accompanied the transition 
from a relatively simple agricultural stage to a stage dom¬ 
inated by the factory system. The tendency toward over¬ 
crowding in rapidly growing cities, the difficulties of main¬ 
taining a normal family life where mother or children are 
employed in factories, and the danger of overstrain, accident, 
and disease in industrial pursuits — all these factors render 
very important the problem of health in industry. 


84 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


Though health in industry is only one phase of the general 
problem of health, it will be impossible here to exhaust even 
that one phase. We shall accordingly confine ourselves to the 
discussion of three questions: first, child labor; second, the 
employment of women in industrial pursuits; and third, 
the insurance of our industrial population against accident, 
sickness, old age, and unemployment. 

Child labor: Extent and Causes. — According to the Ab¬ 
stract of the United States Census , 1931, there are 1,990,225 
boys and girls between the ages of ten and fifteen who are 
engaged in gainful occupations. The boys number 1,353,139 
and the girls 637,086. In all sections of the country large 
numbers of children are found in agriculture, this industry 
generally being beyond the scope of child labor laws. The 
employment of children in factories, mines, quarries, mills, 
and shops, on the other hand, is now considerably restricted 
by law. This is true of all parts of the country. However, 
child labor is still of wide extent in the United States, due to 
the large number of children found in agriculture, domestic 
service, street trades, stores, messenger service, and tenement 
homework. 

Of the immediate causes of child labor one of the most im¬ 
portant is the poverty of the parents. Where the parents are 
themselves day laborers, it is often considered necessary or 
desirable to increase the family earnings by putting the 
children to work. 

From the standpoint of the employer child labor is rendered 
possible and even desirable by the development of types of 
work easily performed by small children. In many cases the 
tendency of parents to put young children to work is en¬ 
couraged by the lax administration of school attendance laws. 
This tendency has also been encouraged by the indifference 
of the public to the evil effects of child labor. 

Effects of child labor. — Students of the problem of child 
labor unanimously condemn the practice of habitually em¬ 
ploying young children outside the home. Where poorly paid 
children compete with men and women, they serve either to 


PROBLEMS OF LABOR 85 

displace adults, or, by competition, to lower the wages of 
adults. 

The effects upon the children themselves are injurious. 
Stunted, crippled, and diseased bodies are the result of steady 
work at too tender an age. Schooling is interrupted, so that 
child workers generally develop into illiterate and inefficient 
adults. When children are forced into gainful occupations 
at an early age, the family life is disrupted, and proper home 
training is difficult if not impossible. Still another factor 
is the greater temptation to vice and crime confronting the 
child outside the home. 

Child labor laws. — Since 1870 the growing acuteness of 
the child labor problem, together with an aroused public 
opinion, has served to increase the number of laws restrict¬ 
ing child labor. At the present time every state in the union 
has some laws regulating child labor. 

A Federal child labor law was passed in 1916, but two years 
later the measure was declared unconstitutional by the Su¬ 
preme Court. In 1919 a new Federal law was enacted. In 
order to avoid the charge of unconstitutionality, this measure 
attacked child labor by levying a tax upon the products of 
such industry. In 1922 it too was declared unconstitutional. 
Shortly afterwards a constitutional amendment giving Con¬ 
gress power to regulate child labor was proposed to the states, 
but it met with such opposition that one state after another 
rejected the proposal. The opponents of child labor are now 
endeavoring to secure a uniform child labor law in all the 
states. In 1930 this new movement was endorsed by the 
American Bar Association. The movement offers, perhaps, 
the best hope for those who would like to lessen the evil of 
child labor. 

Women in industry. — There have always been women in 
industry, but of recent years the proportion of women so 
engaged has increased so rapidly as to create a serious social 
problem. From needlework, domestic service, and teaching, 
women have spread rapidly into trade, commerce, and the 
professions. A few years ago transportation and police work 


86 PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 

were monopolized by men, but today women are entering 
these fields rapidly. Though they outnumber men only in 
domestic and personal service, women are numerous in prac¬ 
tically every important calling except plumbing and street 
cleaning. Altogether 10,778,794 women were, in 1930, en¬ 
gaged in gainful occupations in the United States. 

Why women receive lower wages than men. — Women 
generally receive lower wages than men. Social conventions, 
home attachments, and, often, the lack of the venturesome 
spirit, combine to keep women from moving about in search 
of improved working conditions to the same extent as men. 
The expectation of marriage causes many young women to 
neglect to increase their efficiency, and this at least prevents 
their wages from increasing as rapidily as those of young 
men who undergo consistent training. The trade union is 
still little developed among women workers, a factor which 
often prevents higer wages from being secured. Low wages 
are often traceable to the fact that there is an over supply 
of girls and women in the labor market. Large numbers of 
girls and women are partially supported at home, and are 
able and willing to work for “pin-money” only. Many 
employers take advantage of this fact and offer very low 
wages. 

Legislation regulating the labor of women. — Although it 
would seem desirable to keep young children out of industry 
altogether, there is a general agreement among students of 
the problem that the labor of women ought to be regulated 
rather than prohibited. A number of states have already 
enacted laws designed to safeguard women in industry. In 
some states the number of working hours for women has 
been cut from eleven to nine, while in other states the maxi¬ 
mum number of hours during which women may work is 
eight. Some states prohibit night work for women in indus¬ 
trial establishments. The great majority of the states now 
provide for proper rest periods, guarded machinery, the venti¬ 
lation of workrooms, and, where practicable, seats for women 
employees. To the extent that women actually do the same 


PROBLEMS OF LABOR 


87 


amount and quality of work as men, there is a growing feeling 
that men and women ought to receive equal pay. 

The minimum wage. — A minimum wage law is one which 
specifies that in certain occupations laborers may not be paid 
less than a stipulated wage. The aim of the minimum wage 
is to protect the laborer against employment which, under 
freely competitive conditions, does not pay wages high 
enough to guarantee a decent living. 

The first minimum wage law in the United States was 
passed by Massachusetts in 1912. The movement grew 
rapidly, and by 1921 more than a dozen additional states 
had adopted minimum wage laws. In some states the law 
applies only to specified industries; in others it covers all 
occupations. In some states the law covers only the em¬ 
ployment of women, but in most cases the principle of the 
minimum wage applies to women and minors under eighteen, 
or even twenty-one years of age. In some foreign countries 
the minimum wage is also extended to the labor of men, but 
in the United States men are everywhere exempted from the 
operation of such laws. 

Arguments in favor of the minimum wage. — The cham¬ 
pions of the principle of the minimum wage advance a num¬ 
ber of arguments in its favor. It is contended that no in¬ 
dustry is socially desirable if it cannot pay a living wage, 
for when wages fall below a certain minimum, poverty, ill- 
health, and vice are natural results. When laborers are them¬ 
selves unable to improve their economic position, it is said, 
it becomes the duty of the state to guarantee them a living 
wage. Another argument in favor of the minimum wage is 
that it not only eliminates considerable poverty, but it makes 
possible a healthier and more contented labor force. It is 
claimed that strikes and social unrest are partially eliminated 
by the minimum wage. 

Arguments against the minimum wage. — In spite of the 
rapid spread of minimum wage legislation in this country, 
the principle has met with considerable opposition. It is 
claimed by some that where poverty is due to bad personal 


88 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


habits, the mere payment of a higher wage will not abolish 
poverty. It is also urged that because of price changes, and 
because of differing concepts of a standard of living, it is 
difficult to determine what is really a living wage. Some em¬ 
ployers maintain that the minimum wage is contrary to eco¬ 
nomic law, since it forces the payment of a wage which the 
laborer often does not earn. The compulsory nature of the 
minimum wage is also opposed on the grounds that it con¬ 
stitutes an undue interference with individual rights. 1 

The risks of industry. — In spite of the fact that most 
States now have detailed laws providing for the guarding of 
machinery and the supervision of dangerous occupations, a 
half million persons are injured or killed annually in indus¬ 
trial employments in the United States. A considerable 
amount of ill-health is traceable to working with drugs and 
acids. Continued work in dusty mills and shops, as well as 
long exposure to the excessively dry or excessively moist at¬ 
mosphere required by certain manufacturing processes, also 
give rise to “occupational” diseases. Old age frequently 
brings poverty and distress, in spite of a life of hard work. 
Lastly, the laborer runs the risk of unemployment. 

Unemployment. — Unemployment is a serious problem for 
everyone. An unemployed person, as long as he continues 
as such, is living off past production. Society is caring for 
him in some way and getting no return for its care. From a 
purely selfish standpoint, then, society cannot afford to re¬ 
tire millions of able and willing workers. 

The effects of unemployment are serious. The individual 
himself loses heart, becomes embittered, and in many in¬ 
stances tends to sink into the unemployable class, i.e., those 
who cannot work even when they have the opportunity. 
The individual as well as society loses money. According to 

1 Formerly an important argument against the minimum wage was 
this: There are large numbers of people who cannot earn the minimum 
wage, and because employers will tend not to employ them, such per¬ 
sons will have to be supported by charity. The force of this argument 
is reduced, however, by the fact that most minimum wage laws now make 
special provision for the part-time employment of such persons. 


PROBLEMS OF LABOR 


89 


the American Federation of Labor, workers in the United 
States lost $2,500,000,000 during the first quarter of 1931 
because of unemployment, wage-cutting, and part-time em¬ 
ployment. All business suffers. The grocer sells fewer 
groceries; the banker receives fewer deposits; street car 
companies receive fewer fares; every kind of business loses. 
Great sums cannot be withheld from the consuming class 
without affecting seriously all forms of industry. 

Unemployment is no new problem in the United States, 
but it has been a rather temporary problem, passing with the 
crisis which occasioned it. Following the financial crisis of 
1929 unemployment increased rapidly. In February, 1932, 
the American Federation of Labor estimated the number 
at 8,300,000. Whether it reached that number or not, 
everyone realizes that it is a major problem. During nine 
months in 1929 charity agencies in 56 cities distributed 
$6,705,576; during a similar period in 1931, $30,066,641. 
The number of people seeking free lodgings and meals in¬ 
creased in about the same ratio from 1929 to 1932. Thus 
society by some means must care for the unemployed. 

The causes and cure of unemployment are complex. In¬ 
creasing use of machinery, concentration of wealth, changing 
conditions in industries, such as the use of oil instead of coal, 
the use of electric refrigeration instead of ice, etc., are a 
few causes. Some remedies have been suggested: training 
of untrained workers; increasing the number of private and 
governmental projects which will require labor; establishing 
employment agencies; stabilizing industry by requiring em¬ 
ployers to establish reserve funds; protecting against emer¬ 
gencies by various forms of insurance. Professor Taussig of 
Harvard University thinks that the problem can'be solved 
by a sensible, well-balanced plan of moderate saving and 
moderate spending, which will lead to regular production. 

The principle of social insurance. — As a general rule, 
laborers do not voluntarily insure themselves against illness, 
unemployment, accident, or old age. This is partly because 
they lack the necessary funds, and partly because they do not 


90 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


realize the necessity for such action. The initiative must 
come from the employers. To meet this situation the prin¬ 
ciple of social insurance has been formulated. Social in¬ 
surance, as distinguished from insurance by trade unions or 
private agencies, is compulsory, and is administered, or at 
least supervised, by the state or Federal authorities. 

From the standpoint of the community, social insurance 
may be justified on four grounds. First, the risks of industry 
are largely beyond the control of the individual workman, 
and hence he ought not to be held wholly responsible for the 
penalties which industry may inflict upon him. Second, the 
community gets the benefit of the laborer’s efforts, and thus 
ought to feel morally obligated to safeguard his employment. 
Third, an injury to the laborer restricts the productivity of 
the community by crippling or removing one of its productive 
agents. Fourth, compulsory insurance is a social necessity, 
for where nothing has been laid aside for a rainy day, the in¬ 
terruption of earnings subjects the laborer and his family 
to hardship and disaster. Wisely administered social insur¬ 
ance prevents a great deal of poverty and distress which 
would otherwise constitute an added burden upon charitable 
organizations. 

Workmen’s Compensation Laws. — Accident insurance has 
been a feature of social insurance programs in Germany, 
France, and Great Britain for almost a half century, but in 
this country it was not until 1910 that compulsory insurance 
against industrial accidents began to be effective. Since 1910, 
however, the movement has grown rapidly, and at the present 
time the majority of the states provide for compensation to 
workmen for accidents sustained in connection with their 
work. Formerly our courts quite generally held that when 
a workman could be shown to have suffered an accident 
because of “personal negligence,” the injured person was 
not entitled to compensation. Under the accident insurance 
laws of most states it is now held, however, that the personal 
negligence of the injured workman does not destroy his right 
to receive compensation. 


PROBLEMS OF LABOR 


91 


Insurance against sickness. 1 — Compulsory sickness in¬ 
surance has been highly developed in several European coun¬ 
tries, but so far we have left insurance of this type to private 
effort. The question is attracting considerable attention in 
this country, however, and it is believed that this form of 
social insurance will soon be provided for by state law. In 
1914 the American Association for Labor Legislation out¬ 
lined a model sickness insurance law. Such a law would 
provide for sickness benefit for medical care, and, in case of 
death, for funeral expenses. The cost of such insurance 
would be divided between workmen and employer, while the 
state would bear the cost of administering the law. This 
cost would be considerable, because illness might be feigned, 
and hence there would have to be more careful supervision 
than in the case of accident insurance. 

Insurance against old age. — Compulsory insurance against 
old age is an important feature of social insurance systems 
in European countries, but it is very little known in the 
United States. We are familiar with the Federal pensioning 
of military veterans, and with local pensions for firemen and 
policemen, as well as with state and local pensions for teach¬ 
ers. Such insurance does not, however, touch the question 
of aged employees in industrial pursuits. Trade unions 
sometimes provide a measure of old age insurance for their 
members, but the proportion of workmen affected by this 
practice is very small. 

In 1920 a beginning toward compulsory old age insurance 
was made when a Federal law provided for compulsory old 
age insurance for the civil service employees of the Federal 
government. Old age pensions are now provided by seven¬ 
teen states, five of them having passed laws for this purpose 
in 1931. Small pensions are granted to indigent persons 
who have reached the age of 65 or 70, depending upon the 
state. In 1931 New York paid pensions to 47,939 old people. 

Should social insurance extend to unemployment? — It is 
contended by many that to insure workmen against the loss 
1 Sometimes known as health insurance. 


92 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


of their jobs would encourage shiftlessness, and that for this 
reason the principle of social insurance ought not to apply to 
unemployment. 

It is obvious that some unemployment is traceable to 
personal negligence, and it is probably true that insurance 
against unemployment would discourage thrift and foresight 
on the part of many workmen. On the other hand a large 
share of unemployment is due to crop failures, market fluc¬ 
tuations, and other conditions beyond the control of the 
workmen; so there would be a great deal of unemployment 
whether it were insured against or not. Since unemployment 
is inevitable, and in many cases beyond the control of the 
individual, it may be desirable for the state to insure work¬ 
men against this unavoidable risk. 

In January, 1932, the Wisconsin legislature passed a law 
requiring employers in that state to establish unemployment 
funds. The law was sponsored by Professor Harold M. 
Groves of the University of Wisconsin. It provides that un¬ 
employment benefits shall extend over no more than ten 
weeks in any one year and shall be paid only to workmen 
who have been employed for forty weeks during the previous 
year. The benefits range from $5 to $10 a week. The pre¬ 
miums required of companies which employ ten or more 
laborers shall amount at first to two per cent of the annual 
pay roll, but when the fund equals $50 for each workman 
employed, the premiums drop to one per cent, and when the 
fund equals $75 per employee, the premium payments cease 
altogether. Firms providing irregular employment will thus 
be penalized by having to make continuous payments. 

Obstacles to labor legislation. — Labor legislation of the 
type discussed in this chapter is making rapid headway in the 
United States. Nevertheless, it should be noted that in this 
field we are behind the more advanced countries of western 
Europe. The chief explanation of this relative backwardness 
is that the extension of labor legislation in this country has 
met with considerable opposition. The reasons for this oppo¬ 
sition may be summed up as follows: 


PROBLEMS OF LABOR 


93 


First, the spirit of individualism is strong enough in this 
country to check legislation which appears paternalistic. 
The weak position of women and children in industry has 
somewhat lessened the force of this argument in the case of 
laws designed to safeguard these two groups, but labor legis¬ 
lation in behalf of men is still regarded suspiciously in many 
quarters. 

Second, it is difficult to secure uniforih laws among the sev¬ 
eral states. Labor legislation in this country has been pri¬ 
marily a state concern, but the attitude of the various states 
toward social insurance, the minimum wage, and other types 
of labor legislation, has been so divergent that the resulting 
laws have often been conflicting. In many cases states fear 
to enact laws which they believe will hamper local employers 
and encourage the migration of capital to states which are 
more lenient in this regard. 

Third, an important obstacle to labor legislation in the 
United States has been the difficulty of enacting laws which 
the courts will not declare unconstitutional. The constitu¬ 
tional provision that no one shall be deprived of life, liberty, 
or property without due process of law has often been inter¬ 
preted by the courts in such a way as to nullify laws designed 
to safeguard the interests of the working classes. For ex¬ 
ample, a law restricting the employment of women might 
be declared unconstitutional on the grounds that it interferes 
with the “liberty” of women to work as many hours, and 
for as small a wage, as they choose. 

Within the last decade, however, the obstacle of constitu¬ 
tionality appears to have declined in importance. Our Su¬ 
preme Courts often reverse their own decisions, as well as 
negative the decisions of the lower courts, and it is therefore 
difficult to ascertain what is truly the trend of judicial de¬ 
cision. Nevertheless, many authorities believe that we are 
on the verge of an era in which the courts will weigh labor 
legislation primarily in the light of its social benefit, and only 
secondarily with respect to how it squares with the techni¬ 
calities of the Constitution. 


94 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


Status of the demands of labor. — For a number of years 
the attitude of labor has been clearly aggressive, while the 
attitude of capital has tended to be one of resistance. In 
view of this fact, the simplest way of considering the merits 
of the industrial situation is to examine the demands of labor. 
The justice of these demands cannot be gone into here, but 
a few words of general application may be helpful. 

The proper determination of wages depends, of course, 
upon the particular circumstances. No general rule can be 
laid down, except the very obvious one that wages cannot 
permanently go so high as to wipe out profits in an industry, 
nor yet so low as to render it impossible for the workmen to 
secure a decent living. 

The steady improvement of living and working conditions 
is desirable, and is a challenge to any progressive society. 

Shorter work hours are desirable, wherever the cutting 
down of the working day does not too greatly hamper pro¬ 
duction. Many economists feel that an eight-hour, six- 
hour, or even a five-hour day will prove a social gain only if 
introduced gradually. They believe that it should be intro¬ 
duced in proportion as the industrial productivity of the 
country increases to compensate for the shortening of the 
working day. 

Opposition to the introduction of labor-saving machinery 
is both useless and short-sighted. The officials of most 
unions now advise workmen not to oppose the adoption of 
machinery, but rather to fit themselves to operate the ma¬ 
chines. 

The question of a closed shop or an open shop is largely a 
matter of opinion. The problem will probably continue to be 
disputed for a long time to come. Many students of labor 
conditions feel that the closed shop is justifiable only when 
accompanied by the open union. By an open union is meant 
a union into which all laborers competent to do the work are 
admitted freely. Where the open union principle is adopted, 
Professor Taussig points out, the closed shop is no longer a 
monopolistic device to shut out competition and raise wages 


PROBLEMS OF LABOR 


95 


for a small group. It becomes, instead, a means of promoting 
mutual aid and collective bargaining. 

Many employers still refuse to recognize the principle of 
collective bargaining, but from the social point of view col¬ 
lective bargaining is desirable. In many cases it so strength¬ 
ens the position of the laborers that they are able to deal 
with the employer more nearly on terms of equality. Under 
such conditions competition in the labor market is in a 
healthy state. The difficulty is, of course, that some unions 
may take advantage of their strengthened position to enforce 
unduly severe conditions upon the employer. 

The outlook. — Although it is probable that industrial 
disagreements will long endure, we have a right to expect 
that continued progress will be made in settling these dis¬ 
putes peaceably. By many it is believed that compulsory 
arbitration is the most effective method of securing industrial 
peace, but for reasons already given, the extension of this 
form of arbitration will probably be slow in this country. 
English experience would indicate that we have not yet ex¬ 
hausted the possibilities of the trade agreement, but though 
this device is becoming better known in the United States, 
both the American laborer and the American employer are 
still disposed to settle their differences by means of the 
strike, the lockout, and similar weapons. 

The present century is an age of industrial stress and 
change, and it is possible that the ultimate solution of the 
disputes between labor and capital has not yet been advanced. 
From the data now at hand, however, it is maintained by 
many that labor disputes must ultimately be eradicated 
through the development of industrial democracy. Indus¬ 
trial democracy implies the joint direction of industrial 
policies by employer and employees, working together har¬ 
moniously and in the spirit of equality. When industrial 
democracy is attained, according to this view, mutual trust 
and the spirit of friendly cooperation will enable labor and 
capital to adjust their differences peaceably and economi¬ 
cally, without dictation from any outside source. 


96 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


Activities and References 
Significant Words and Phrases 

Labor, capital, factory system, trade union, bonus, strike, boycott, picketing, 
intimidation, strike-breakers, injunction, blacklist, lockout, trade agreement, 
voluntary arbitration, compulsory arbitration, mediation, conciliation, min¬ 
imum wage, occupational disease, social insurance, collective bargaining, 
industrial democracy. 

Questions 

1. Why are we accustomed to speak of labor and capital as the two chief 

factors in production? What other factors are there? 

2. Why did labor organize? Give the history of the trade union move¬ 

ment in the United States. 

3. Name some employers’ associations. 

4. What weapons are at the disposal of the trade unions? 

5. List the weapons at the disposal of the employers. 

6. Why is the existence of industrial warfare of concern to the public? 

7. Have bonuses, pensions, and welfare work tended to promote in¬ 

dustrial peace? 

8. How far has the trade agreement been of service? 

9. Distinguish between voluntary and compulsory arbitration, con¬ 

ciliation, and mediation. 

10. What classes of workers are not organized? How does this affect their 

economic status? 

11. What is the justification for labor legislation? 

12. What are some evil effects of child labor? 

13. What are four arguments for social insurance? 

14. State the details of Wisconsin’s compulsory insurance law. 

15. Name and explain four forms of social insurance. 

16. What are three obstacles to labor legislation in the United States? 

17. How does unemployment affect the unemployed? How does it affect 

society in general? 

Problems 

1. Problem: To appreciate the effects of a strike. Method: A milk strike 
recently occurred in a large city. The health commissioner set aside 
an ordinance in order to promote the delivery of milk. He declared 
that he would not allow babies to go without milk. Write an imaginary 
account of a specific instance in a household which might have caused 
the commissioner to realize the seriousness of the situation. 

2. Problem: To appreciate the effects of a strike upon laborers. Method: 


PROBLEMS OF LABOR 


97 


Write an imaginary account of the suffering of a striker’s family. 
Galsworthy’s play, Strife, contains an excellent picture of such a 
situation. 

3. Problem: To survey the causes of strikes. Method: List those given 
in Williamson, Readings in American Democracy, 239. Add any others 
which you can find. 

4. Problem: To become acquainted with a workman’s compensation law. 
Method: Read the one given in Williamson, Readings in American 
Democracy, 262-264. 

5. Problem: To visualize the effect of strikes upon the public. Method: 
Draw a cartoon of Labor and Capital battling with each other while 
both are trampling the fallen body of General Public. 

6. Problem: To discover the child labor situation today, with particular 
reference to the United States. Method: Hold a Child Labor Congress. 
If possible, include reports by delegates from foreign lands. Let the 
chairman’s speech include a brief history of child labor and the con¬ 
ditions giving rise to it. At the close of the session, pass resolutions 
for action, using a Resolution Committee. (The Abstract of the 
Census is helpful for statistics. Many magazine articles are available. 
The state headquarters of the Federation of Women’s Clubs and of 
labor unions will sometimes furnish material. Pictures should be 
utilized if possible.) 

References 

Burch and Patterson, American Social Problems 
Janzen and Stephenson, Everyday Economics 
Thompson, Elementary Economics 
Towne, Social Problems 
Williamson, Readings in American Democracy 


CHAPTER IX 


BASES OF THE CAPITALISTIC SYSTEM 

The capitalistic system. — Modern industry is some¬ 
times said to be headless, because the numerous individuals 
engaged in it are not systematically controlled or directed 
by a single agency. It is often said to be planless, since 
laborers, employers, and other industrial agents concentrate 
upon their individual desires and needs, rather than upon 
the needs of the community or nation as a whole. 

And yet there is in modern industry a certain regularity 
of outline, and a general tendency to follow the economic 
laws discussed in the preceding chapters. This circumstance 
prevents us from concluding that our industrial life is en¬ 
tirely a haphazard affair. It may, indeed, be said that we 
have an industrial system. Because of the great importance, 
in it of capital, this system is commonly known as the 
“capitalistic system.” The underlying principles of this 
system have already been mentioned or implied; never¬ 
theless it will be to our interest in this chapter to develop 
and organize these principles so as to indicate just how they 
constitute the bases of capitalism. 

Attitude of government toward industry. — “It is the 
duty of the government,” Gladstone once said, “to make it 
easy for the people to do right, and difficult for them to do 
wrong.” According to the theory of the capitalistic system, 
that is “right” which renders the individual and the com¬ 
munity stronger, happier, and more prosperous in useful 
pursuits, while that is “wrong” which weakens or de¬ 
moralizes the citizen and the community. The chief eco¬ 
nomic function of government is thus to discourage men 
from harmful and destructive acts, and to encourage them 
in activities which are helpful and productive. 

98 


BASES OF THE CAPITALISTIC SYSTEM 


99 


Professor Carver points out that the method by which 
animals get their living is either destructive, deceptive, per¬ 
suasive, or productive. Any one of these four methods 
may at least temporarily increase the well-being of the 
individual, but only the productive method is certain to 
benefit the community as well. A good government will 
therefore seek to prevent people from advancing their in¬ 
dividual interests by killing, robbing, or deceiving their 
fellows. This suppression of violence and fraud leaves open 
to individuals only the productive method of getting a living 
so that they cannot benefit themselves without at the same 
time adding to the prosperity of the community. Thus, 
from the standpoint of capitalism, a good government main¬ 
tains an attitude toward industry which is primarily nega¬ 
tive: such a government hampers the economic activities 
of individuals very little or not at all, so long as they do 
not practice harmful methods of getting a living. 

Private property. — Most men are self-centered. In even 
a highly developed society, men ordinarily will not work 
consistently except in their own behalf, or in the behalf of 
a very few people for whom they care intensely. This 
instinct of self-interest is the kernel of industrial progress, 
but it can result in material prosperity only when govern¬ 
ment suppresses violence and fraud. The lowest savages 
are undoubtedly self-centered, but so long as they must 
rely upon brute force to retain their possessions, there is 
little inducement to acquire wealth. It is only when law 
suppresses robbery and fraud, and otherwise protects the 
individual in his property rights, that the acquisitive instinct 
will cause him to exert himself in productive ways. Because 
it satisfies the individual’s desire to secure the good things 
of life, the institution of private property is the greatest 
known spur to economic activity. It is only in those coun¬ 
tries where individuals are protected in their property rights 
that we find an active, progressive, and prosperous people. 

Enforcement of contracts. — We have already seen that 
among the members of a modern industrial society there is a 


100 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


high degree of interdependence, corresponding, in an im¬ 
portant sense, to the interdependence between the parts of 
a machine. The typical individual in industry is a special¬ 
ist, concentrating upon one particular kind of work, and 
depending upon his fellows to supply him with goods and 
services which he cannot supply for himself. Now, such a 
condition of interdependence could never have arisen were 
it not for the fact that government fosters the spirit of con¬ 
fidence among individuals. Many persons can be trusted 
to fulfill the agreements or contracts which they make with 
their fellows, but many cannot. A prime function of govern¬ 
ment, therefore, is to enforce contracts entered into volun¬ 
tarily and in legal form. This is clearly essential to our 
material prosperity, for if men are to rely upon the word of 
those who sell them goods or services, or to whom they 
sell goods or services, all of the individuals concerned must 
be dependable. A good government will shunt men into 
productive activities, and it will insist upon the fulfillment 
of lawful contracts. Subject to these two limitations, indi¬ 
viduals are relatively free to seek their own well-being. 

Competition. — An earmark of economic goods is scarcity; 
that is, there are at a given time and place fewer of them 
than are desired. Men must therefore compete with one 
another for goods and services. The lower animals compete 
for food with tooth and claw; among civilized men govern¬ 
ment tries to raise competition to an ethical plane by 
tending to suppress all but the productive methods of com¬ 
petition. 

Where competition is so restricted and safeguarded, advo¬ 
cates of capitalism assert that the results are overwhelm¬ 
ingly good. Where there is free competition in productive 
enterprise, employers commonly pay their laborers as high 
a wage as they feel is justified under the particular circum¬ 
stances, lest their workmen abandon them for rival em¬ 
ployers. Under similar conditions, laborers will generally 
endeavor to render the best possible service, so that the 
employer will prefer them to other laborers. This assumes, 


BASES OF THE CAPITALISTIC SYSTEM 


101 


of course, that competition is effective, i.e ., that there is 
neither an oversupply nor an undersupply of either employers 
or employees. 

When there is free competition in productive enterprise, 
the price of commodities produced by a given concern can¬ 
not rise too high, for consumers will either buy those com¬ 
modities of rival producers, or will use substitutes. If, on 
the other hand, prices drop so low that producers make 
little or no profits, they will withdraw from business. 

Free and effective competition thus means rivalry in satis¬ 
fying wants. Competition tends to harmonize the interests 
of the individual with the interests of the community, by 
making the success of the individual depend primarily upon 
what he accomplishes for his fellows. 

Value under conditions of free competition. — In a com¬ 
petitive market, as we have seen, value depends upon scarcity 
and utility. No one will ordinarily pay for a commodity 
unless it will satisfy his wants. Even though a commodity 
has utility, no one will ordinarily pay for it unless it is so 
scarce that he cannot get as much of it as he wishes without 
paying for it. Air, for example, has great utility, but it is 
so abundant that it can ordinarily be secured without pay¬ 
ment. Hence it has no value. 

Price, the measure of value in terms of money, will be 
determined, under conditions of free competition, by the 
interaction of utility and scarcity. Diamonds are high in 
price because they satisfy intense desires and are scarce; 
bread is cheap because it is relatively abundant. Skilled 
labor receives high wages because in addition to its utility 
it is relatively scarce; unskilled labor often receives low 
wages because while possessing utility it is relatively abun¬ 
dant. This principle is of the very greatest consequence, 
and in considering the programs of industrial reform we 
shall come back to it again. 

Freedom. — A large measure of personal liberty is a 
characteristic of the capitalistic system. To an increasing 
extent, government is restricting economic activity to pro- 


102 


PRINCIPLES- OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


ductive channels, but with this qualification, the individual 
is comparatively free to do as he likes. The laborer is free 
to move about in search of work, free to seek a better job, 
free to accept or to rej ect work offered him. He may abandon 
his job when he chooses, and remain idle as long as he chooses 
or is able. He is repressed by no paternalistic government, 
embarrassed by no feudal system. He is part and parcel of 
the competitive system, guiding his own actions and accept¬ 
ing responsibility for them. To a large extent, the employer 
is similarly free to hire or discharge men as he sees fit, to 
initiate a new business, or to withdraw from business alto¬ 
gether. In every case the individual is free, so far as legal 
restrictions are concerned, to use his money as he chooses. 
Whether it is hoarded, invested, or wasted is largely a mat¬ 
ter for him to determine. 

Benefits of the capitalistic system. — The material pros¬ 
perity of the modern world has been attained under the 
capitalistic system of industry. The system was not in¬ 
vented, but has developed and spread from small beginnings 
because experience has proved it to be the best system 
applicable to human industry. The starting point of all 
material prosperity has been the development of government 
which suppresses violence and fraud, which enforces con¬ 
tracts, and which makes possible the rise of the institution 
of private property. The inception of the Industrial Revo¬ 
lution and its spread beyond England to Europe, America, 
and Asia were possible only because these bases of capital¬ 
ism were already laid. The steam engine, the railroad, the 
steamship, the electric light, and countless other inventions 
which have helped to revolutionize the world, may be traced 
directly or indirectly to individual freedom and to the pro¬ 
tection of property rights. Inasmuch as science, art, and 
literature depend to a considerable degree upon material 
prosperity, we may go so far as to say that capitalism is the 
most important single basis of modern civilization. 

Defects of the capitalistic system. — But capitalism is not 
without its defects. The lack of centralized control in in- 


BASES OF THE CAPITALISTIC SYSTEM 


103 


dustry allows of planless production. 1 Entrepreneurs fre¬ 
quently produce without adequate knowledge of demand 
and without knowledge of rival production. When business 
is booming and profits are high, it often happens that so 
many individuals go into business that eventually there is 
over-production, i.e., there are more goods at a particular 
time than can be sold at a profit. Crises, unemployment, 
and “hard times’’ are often the direct result of this over¬ 
production. Malnutrition, disease, vice, crime, and pauper¬ 
ism are often its indirect results. There are many explana¬ 
tions of the economic crisis of 1929, but over-production was 
undoubtedly one of the most important causes. 

In still other ways the capitalistic system allows an un¬ 
economical expenditure of labor and capital. There is no 
adequate method of directing labor and capital toward the 
production of durable and helpful commodities, and away 
from the production of luxuries and such harmful commodi¬ 
ties as have not been made illegal. Under competitive con¬ 
ditions, too, a number of shops or stores may exist in a 
community that might easily be served by a single firm. 
This is wasteful duplication, just as advertising is a waste 
when it goes beyond the point of informing the public of the 
qualities of the commodity, the price, and as to where it 
may be purchased. Still another source of waste is traceable 
to an excessive number of middlemen, each of whom adds to 
the price of the product as it passes through his hands. 

The inequality of wealth. — In all of the great industrial 
countries of the world, including the United States, the exist¬ 
ing distribution of wealth is roughly in the form of a pyramid, 
i.e., at the top or apex of the pyramid there is a relatively 
small number of persons who enjoy large incomes, while at 
the base there is a large number with relatively small in¬ 
comes. This inequality is explained by Professor Taussig 

1 During our participation in the World War, it is largely true that 
much of the productive energy of the country was organized and directed 
as a unit. This was a temporary expedient, however, resorted to for the 
purpose of winning the war. 


104 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


on two grounds: First, it is likely that some individuals 
originally secured an economic advantage over their fellows 
because of inborn superiority of some kind. Second, the 
economic advantage thus secured has been maintained from 
generation to generation by inheritance. Where, for ex¬ 
ample, wealth is invested so that the principal remains intact 
while a large annual income is thrown off as interest, the 
heirs may live in affluence, regardless of ability or desert. 
Thus we have a leisure class emerging as the result of inborn 
differences between men, supplemented by the accumulation 
of wealth and its transmission by inheritance. 

The question of industrial reform. — Great inequalities in 
the distribution of wealth are undesirable. If any improve¬ 
ment is humanly possible, we ought not to rest content so 
long as millions of our citizens have too few of the good 
things of life, while others have much more than is necessary 
for comfort and happiness. The test of an economic system 
is whether or not it provides a good world to live in, and so 
long as large numbers of individuals lack the necessaries of 
life, our economic system must be considered defective. The 
people as a group are both the means and the end of progress. 
Democracy cannot rest upon any other basis than the great¬ 
est good to the greatest number. 

Approaching the problem. — In approaching the problem 
of industrial reform it is necessary to cultivate a fair and 
sane attitude. We must attack all of the problems of Ameri¬ 
can democracy, certainly. But in so far as some of these 
problems involve the integrity of the capitalistic system, 
we should distinguish between ills which are clearly trace¬ 
able to that system, and defects which obviously would 
exist under any industrial system. Capitalism cannot be dis¬ 
credited, for example, by pointing out that crime exists in 
all capitalistic countries. Though capitalism may accentu¬ 
ate some types of crime, our knowledge of human nature 
leads us to suspect that a considerable amount of crime would 
exist under any known system of industry. 

The problem before us is a double one: First, can we 


BASES OF THE CAPITALISTIC SYSTEM 


105 


remedy the defects of the capitalistic system? Second, if the 
defects of capitalism cannot be remedied, what industrial 
system shall be substituted for capitalism? It is not a ques¬ 
tion of whether or not capitalism is faulty, but of whether 
it is more faulty than the system that would be substituted 
for it. The virtues of capitalism, most authorities believe, 
clearly outweigh its defects, and though some other system 
may eventually prove to have as great virtues with fewer 
defects, the burden of proof is upon those who advocate 
other systems than capitalism. Until the advantage is 
clearly shown to be on the side of a rival system, it will 
be wise to retain capitalism. 

Activities and References 
Significant Words and Phrases 

Capitalistic system, capitalism, institution, private property, contract, free 
competition, entrepreneur, paternalistic. 

Questions 

1. Is it correct to speak of a “capitalistic system”? 

2. What is the chief economic function of government? 

3. Name the four methods of getting a living. Which will be encour¬ 

aged by a good government? 

4. To what extent is the attitude of a good government toward industry 

a negative one? 

5. What is the relation of government to the institution of private 

property? 

6. What is the importance of laws requiring the enforcement of contracts? 

7. Why is there competition? 

8. How does competition tend to harmonize the interests of the in¬ 

dividual with those of the community? 

9. Why are diamonds high in price? Why is bread low in price? 

10. What is the relation of capitalism to economic freedom? 

11. What can be said as to the benefits of capitalism? 

12. What are the chief defects of capitalism? 

13. Outline the existing distribution of wealth. 

14. On what two grounds does Professor Taussig account for this situation? 

15. What facts should be borne in mind in attacking the problem of 

industrial reform? 


106 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


Problems 

1. Problem: To examine the nature of the capitalistic system. Method: 
Divide people into as many economic classes as you know. How many 
classes live on wages or salaries? What other systems are there be¬ 
sides the capitalistic system? (Hint, see Chapter XV.) 

2. Problem: To appreciate the motive behind private property. Method: 
What motives do you think would cause people to work if there was 
no private ownership? 

3. Problem: To appreciate the inequality of the distribution of wealth. 
Method: Estimate the incomes in your community. Suppose they 
range from $500 to $10,000. What percentage of them are at each 
level? Do you suppose that similar conditions exist elsewhere? 

References 

Faubel, Principles of Economics 
Fay, Elements of Economics 
Keister, Our Financial System 
Marshall and Wiese, Modern Business 
Thompson, Elementary Economics 
Williamson, Introduction to Economics 
-, Readings in American Democracy 


CHAPTER X 


SHARING THE PRODUCTS OF 
INDUSTRY 

The problem prior to the Industrial Revolution. — The 
sharing of industrial income has to do with dividing the 
products of industry, or the money which represents those 
products, among the various individuals who have aided in 
their creation. 

The problem of shgjing or distribution has existed ever 
since men first combined for purposes of production, but until 
the period of the Industrial Revolution the question was 
relatively unimportant. When, three hundred years ago, 
most necessaries were produced within the family circle, 
there was little or no question as to whether or not individuals 
outside the family ought to be rewarded for having helped 
in the production of those commodities. If one member 
of the family made an entire pair of shoes, for example, 
he was clearly entitled to those shoes, at least so far as 
economic principles are concerned. Even where different 
members of the family combined to produce a pair of shoes 
or an article of clothing, the small number of persons in¬ 
volved, as well as the close identity of interests among 
the family members, kept the problem of distribution from 
becoming a serious one. 

Effect of the Industrial Revolution upon the problem. — 
The Industrial Revolution greatly increased the importance 
of the problem of distribution. Indeed, the growth of the 
factory system, and the greater and greater complexity of 
the division of labor, have made the distribution of industrial 
income the basic problem in our economic and social life. 
Many commodities are still produced by individuals work- 

107 


108 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


ing independently, or by the joint efforts of the members 
of a family, but the vast majority of commodities are now 
produced by the joint efforts of numerous individuals who 
are not bound together by family ties. The production of a 
factory-made shoe, for example, involves large numbers of 
people, including the cattle grower, the transportation agent, 
the tanner, numerous laborers, the individuals who supply 
land and capital to the entrepreneur, and the entrepreneur 
who conducts the enterprise. The welfare of millions of 
people is involved in the distribution of industrial income 
among individuals who cooperate in such enterprises as this. 

Difficulty of the problem. — Under modern industrial con¬ 
ditions most commodities are produced by the combined 
efforts of large numbers of people. All these people help 
along the productive process, though .in different ways and 
to a varying degree. Since all help, all are entitled to pay¬ 
ment. But this is less simple than it sounds. How shall 
we determine how much each one helps, and how shall we 
decide how much each one is to receive? 

At the outset of the discussion, we can be sure of at least 
one fact. Since all the individuals involved in a given enter¬ 
prise must be paid out of the value of the finished product, 
the combined sums received by them cannot long exceed the 
total value of that product. Unfortunately, this fact is often 
overlooked. Many of the individuals who aid in production 
often become so intent upon securing their share, that they 
are over-ready to explain their contribution to the product, 
but loath to give due credit to those who have cooperated 
with them. It is the belief that some individuals receive too 
little of the joint income of industry, while other individuals 
receive too large a share, which has given rise to the charge 
of injustice in the distribution of wealth. 

Significance of the entrepreneur in distribution. — For the 
sake of clearness, let us continue to illustrate the nature of 
distribution by reference to the shoe industry, carried on 
under conditions which are not unduly complicated. 

The individual having control of the actual manufacture 


SHARING THE PRODUCTS OF INDUSTRY 


109 


of the shoes is the entrepreneur. It is he who, in anticipation 
of a demand for shoes, has initiated the enterprise. Suppose, 
for the sake of simplicity, that the entrepreneur has secured 
land from the land-owner, capital from the capitalist, and 
labor from the workmen. Protected in a legitimate enter¬ 
prise by the government, he has set himself up as a manu¬ 
facturer of shoes. Since he is in control of the enterprise, 
it is he who pays the land-owner, the capitalist, and the la¬ 
borers for their respective contributions toward the finished 
shoes. 

The amounts received by the individuals cooperating with 
the entrepreneur are not, however, arbitrarily determined. 
The entrepreneur must bow to economic law, and give these 
individuals what free competition in industry sets as a proper 
reward for their respective services. Let us examine this 
conformity to economic law. 

The land-owner receives rent. — The land-owner is re¬ 
warded because he extends the use of land to the entre¬ 
preneur. A land-owner could not be expected to, and will 
not, allow the entrepreneur free use of this land. The land- 
owner must therefore be paid for the use of the land. The 
entrepreneur, on the other hand, is able and willing to pay 
for the use of the land because upon it he expects to build 
a factory in which to manufacture shoes. He therefore pays 
the land-owner an amount of money called rent. The amount 
ot rent paid for a piece of land depends partly upon how 
much the entrepreneur wants the land, and partly upon the 
available supply of land of the type wanted. This is equiva¬ 
lent to saying that rent is determined by the interaction of 
the two forces of supply and demand. 

The capitalist receives interest. — Besides land, the entre¬ 
preneur needs machinery, office equipment, raw materials, 
the services of laborers, and numerous other aids in produc¬ 
tion. Let us assume that the entrepreneur borrows from a 
capitalist the money required to procure these necessaries. 
The entrepreneur can afford to pay interest for the use of this 
money, since with the aid of the goods and services which 


no 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


it will buy, he can produce more shoes than would other¬ 
wise be possible. Not only can he afford to pay interest, 
but he is obliged to pay it, since otherwise he could not 
secure the required loan. Though some people tend care¬ 
lessly to overlook the fact, saving and abstinence are neces¬ 
sary to the accumulation of money. The individual who 
has money, therefore, cannot be expected to allow the entre¬ 
preneur to use it without payment, especially not when, as 
we have just seen, the entrepreneur can acquire wealth by 
the use of the goods and services which that money will 
buy. 

The amount of interest which the capitalist receives for 
the use of his money will depend, as will rent, upon the law of 
supply and demand. If there is a large amount of funds 
available for investment, and at the same time few borrow¬ 
ers, then a given capitalist must be content to accept a 
relatively low rate of interest, lest his refusal cause the en¬ 
trepreneur to close a bargain with a competing capitalist. 
If, on the other hand, available funds are scarce and entre¬ 
preneurs are greatly in need of money, then capitalists are 
at an advantage and entrepreneurs must offer relatively 
high rates of interest. 

The laborer receives wages. — The payment which the 
laborers receive for their part in the production of the shoes 
is called wages. Since the laborers help in shoe manufac¬ 
ture, the employer can afford to pay them. Not only can 
he afford to pay them, but he must pay them. Otherwise 
the laborers would not work for this particular entrepreneur, 
but, in a freely competitive market, would offer their services 
to a competing employer. 

Wages, like rent and interest, depend upon the conditions 
of supply and demand. If, in comparison with other aids 
in production, the services of laborers are wanted badly, and 
if, at the same time, there is a scarcity of the desired type of 
labor, then wages will be high. If, on the other hand, there 
is an oversupply of laborers, and also a small demand for 
that type of labor, then wages will tend to be low. 


SHARING THE PRODUCTS OF INDUSTRY 


111 


The government receives taxes. — In addition to paying 
the land-owner, the capitalist, and the laborers for their share 
in producing the shoes, the entrepreneur must pay taxes to 
the government. These taxes may be considered as pay¬ 
ment for that maintenance of law and order without which 
the economical manufacture of shoes would be impossible. 
The share which goes to the government is determined by a 
unique method: the government does not try to secure as 
large a share of the product as possible, but strives, on the 
contrary, to exact as little as possible, and still meet its ex¬ 
penses. The subject of taxation requires special treatment 1 
and does not, therefore, call for further mention in this 
chapter. 

The entrepreneur receives profits. — That share of the 
income derived from the sale of the shoes which goes to the 
entrepreneur is called profits. It is only fair that the entre¬ 
preneur receive some reward, for it is he who conceived the 
idea of shoe manufacture and then carried out the project. 
Without his efforts the land-owner, the capitalist, and the 
laborers would not have combined in this enterprise, with the 
result that there would have been fewer shoes in the com¬ 
munity. Fewer shoes would probably mean more expensive 
shoes. And not only does the entrepreneur deserve some 
reward for this adding to the well-being of the community, 
but if he did not receive that reward, he would not go to the 
trouble of initiating and maintaining a shoe manufacturing 
establishment. 

The share going to the entrepreneur is determined less 
exactly than is the share of the land-owner, the capitalist, 
and the laborers. In dividing up the income of the business, 
the shoe manufacturer must, in an important sense, put him¬ 
self last. Before there are finished shoes to sell, he must 
pay the land-owner rent, the capitalist interest, and the 
laborers wages. Before he is allowed to count out his own 
share he must also pay taxes to the government, pay in¬ 
surance on his plant, and set aside an amount sufficient to 
, 1 See Chapter XXXV. 


112 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


keep his buildings and machinery in repair. He cannot 
evade the payment of rent, interest, or wages on the plea 
that these payments will diminish his profits. He has con¬ 
tracted to pay the landlord, the capitalist, and the laborers, 
and he must fulfill that contract. If, after paying all of his 
expenses, there is anything left, the entrepreneur retains it 
as profits. Sometimes this share is very large, sometimes it 
is so small as to force the entrepreneur out of business. In 
any case, the chief risks and responsibilities of the whole 
enterprise are concentrated upon the entrepreneur, rather 
than upon the land-owner, the capitalist, or the laborers. 

The determinants of each share. — To sum up, the share 
of the joint industrial income going respectively to the land- 
owner, the capitalist, and the laborers is determined by the 
interaction of the forces of supply and demand, operating 
under conditions of free competition. The entrepreneur’s 
demand for land, labor, or capital will depend upon whether 
or not he sees an opportunity, under a particular set of 
circumstances, to add to his product by the employment of 
each or all of these factors. Where the supply of laborers 
is large, relative to demand, the promised product of any 
one laborer is likely to be relatively small, and in this case 
the entrepreneur or employer will be unwilling or even un¬ 
able to offer a particular laborer high wages. Under these 
circumstances the competition of the many laborers for the 
few jobs will accordingly bring about lower wages. Where, 
on the other hand, the supply of laborers is small, relatively 
to demand, the chances that a particular laborer will be 
able to add to the product are relatively great, and the 
competition of employers for laborers will result in higher 
wages. The same reasoning is applicable to rent and in¬ 
terest. The automatic operation of the law to supply and 
demand, functioning in a freely competitive market, de¬ 
termines the shares which go to land, labor, and capital. 
The share going to the individual entrepreneur is, as has 
already been pointed out, what is left over. 


SHARING THE PRODUCTS OF INDUSTRY 


113 


Activities and References 
Significant Words and Phrases 

Distribution, Industrial Revolution, economic law, entrepreneur, free com¬ 
petition, rent, interest, profit, tax, oversupply, supply and demand, risk. 

Questions 

1. What is meant by the distribution of industrial income? 

2. Why was this distribution of relatively small importance prior to the 

Industrial Revolution? 

3. In what way did the Industrial Revolution accentuate the importance 

of the problem of distribution? 

4. What are the chief difficulties which confront the student of this 

problem? 

5. What belief has given rise to the charge of injustice in the distribution 

of wealth? 

6. Explain the significance of the entrepreneur in distribution. 

7. What is the nature of rent? 

8. Why does the capitalist receive interest? 

9. Why does the laborer receive wages? 

10. What is the government’s share in distribution? 

11. What is the nature of profits, and how are they determined? 

Problems 

1. Problem: To understand how the problem of distribution was changed 
by the Industrial Revolution. Method: Report on distribution before 
and after the Industrial Revolution. An excellent account is given 
in Williamson, Readings in American Democracy, 119-123. 

2. Problem: To appreciate the factors which enter into the price of an 
article. Method: Visualize a stove. List the factors, such as labor, 
capital, etc., which assisted in producing it. Show why the price 
must be large enough to afford a return to every factor. 

3. Problem: To examine the question of rent. Method: Does the owner 
of a house have to pay rent? If so, to whom? 

References 

Faubel, Principles of Economics 
Fay, Elements of Economics 
Seager, Principles of Economics 
Thompson, Elementary Economics 
Williamson, Introduction to Economics 
-, Readings in American Democracy 


CHAPTER XI 


EXCHANGING THE PRODUCTS OF 
INDUSTRY 

Division of labor leads to exchange. — In the self-sufficing 
stage that existed in industry a few hundred years ago there 
was generally little necessity for the exchange of products. 
Each family produced most of the commodities which it 
needed, and depended relatively little upon the products of 
persons outside the family circle. 

The complex division of labor which developed out of the 
Industrial Revolution has made the exchange of products 
increasingly important. Today the typical workman con¬ 
centrates upon one particular kind of work, and is content 
to exchange a share of his earnings for the numerous goods 
and services which he cannot supply for himself. Exchange 
thus increases the total output of the community or nation 
by permitting individuals to specialize in those commodities 
which they can produce most effectively. 

Exchange leads to communication and transportation. — 
The exchange of goods requires ample and quick means of 
communication, such as the telegraph, telephone, radio, and 
the postal system, and it also requires adequate methods of 
transportation, such as trucks, railroads, and steamships. 
Each section tends to specialize in the work for which it is 
best suited. New England is well adapted to manufactur¬ 
ing, the South to the growing of cotton, and certain parts 
of the West to the production of lumber and foodstuffs. The 
suitability of a region to a particular class of products is 
due, partly to location, partly to the nature of the soil and 
the climate, and partly to the inclination and training of 
the people. But whatever its causes, this territorial division 
114 


EXCHANGING THE PRODUCTS OF INDUSTRY 115 

of labor could not be carried out without an efficient system 
of transportation and communication. Communication by 
mail, telephone, and telegraph is necessary to allow pro¬ 
ducers and consumers in different parts of the country to 
keep in touch with one another. Transportation by land 
and water is necessary if the surplus products of one section 
are to be exchanged for the surplus products of other sec¬ 
tions. 

Types of coordinators. — Those who perform the work 
of coordination in industry are commonly referred to indis¬ 
criminately as business men, middlemen, or entrepreneurs. 1 
The meaning of these three terms is distinguished with diffi¬ 
culty, but, to avoid confusion, the essential character of each 
will be pointed out. The term business man is very general 
and includes all who actively engage in any sort of business. 
The primary function of the middleman is to act as a con¬ 
necting link between various industrial enterprises. The en¬ 
trepreneur , on the other hand, is primarily an individual who 
coordinates land, labor, and capital with the intention of 
initiating and conducting a business enterprise. In so far 
as he acts as a connecting link between other industrial 
agents, the entrepreneur is a middleman, but the middle¬ 
man is usually thought of as an individual who connects 
existing businesses, rather than one who initiates a new enter¬ 
prise. To the functions of the entrepreneur we shall return 
in the next chapter; here it is the middleman proper who is 
our chief concern. 

Importance of the middleman. — The chief stages of shoe 
manufacture may serve to illustrate the great importance 
of the middleman in exchange. The middleman, anticipat¬ 
ing a demand for beef and hides, connects the cattle grower 
with the live-stock market. Still later it is a middleman who 
offers raw hides to the tanner, and who sees that the whole- 

1 It is too bad that we have no word in English and have to borrow 
from the French. We dare not use the translated word, for it is “under¬ 
taker.” Here then is one example where our language is quite inadequate 
for the exact expression of our idea. 


116 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


sale leather merchant comes into business contact with the 
tanner. The banker or broker who connects the entre¬ 
preneur with the money with which to set up a shoe factory 
may be called a middleman, as may the individual who aids 
the entrepreneur in getting the required amounts of land 
and labor with which to start manufacturing. When, under 
the direction of the entrepreneur, the shoe has been manu¬ 
factured, it is often a middleman who connects the shoe 
wholesaler with the finished product. The jobber who buys 
large quantities of shoes from the wholesaler and sells them 
to the retailer in small lots is a middleman. The advertising 
man whose description and pictorial representation of the 
shoe causes the consumer to buy it from the retailer is also 
a middleman. 

Not all middlemen are necessary. — By coordinating the 
work of these various individuals, many of whom are them¬ 
selves middlemen, the middlemen whom we have been de¬ 
scribing allow the community to secure the full benefit of 
the division of labor and of exchange. Where there exist 
just enough middlemen to coordinate with maximum effi¬ 
ciency the various industrial agents of a community, the 
community gains. When, on the other hand, there are more 
middlemen at work than are really needed to perform the 
work of industrial coordination, the community loses. This 
loss is a double one: first, the working energy of the super¬ 
fluous middlemen is wasted, or at least is applied uneconom- 
ically; second, middlemen are paid, directly or indirectly, 
out of the product which they handle, so that the handling 
of a commodity by an unnecessarily large number of middle¬ 
men means higher prices for the ultimate consumers of that 
commodity. 1 

Barter. — We have seen what the middleman does; it re¬ 
mains to point out how, or by means of what mechanism, 
he performs his functions. When savages or civilized peoples 

1 The existence of superfluous middlemen constitutes a grave problem, 
to which more and more attention is being given. Various aspects of this 
problem are discussed in Chapter XIV. 


EXCHANGING THE PRODUCTS OF INDUSTRY 117 

living under primitive conditions wish to exchange their sur¬ 
plus goods, they generally resort to barter, i.e., they exchange 
one commodity directly for another. Where the division of 
labor has been so little developed that the goods to be ex¬ 
changed are relatively few, this may work very well, but in 
modern industry barter would be inexpedient, if not im¬ 
possible. The farmer who had a surplus of cattle and desired 
a piano might have great difficulty in finding a man who had 
a surplus piano and who also desired cattle. Even though 
the farmer liked the piano in question, and even though the 
owner of the piano were pleased with the farmer’s cattle, it 
might be impossible to measure the value of the piano in 
units of cattle. 

Nature and function of money. — To facilitate exchange 
civilized peoples make an extensive use of money. Money 
may be defined as anything that passes freely from hand to 
hand as a medium of exchange. 1 In modern times gold, 
silver, nickel, and copper coins have been the most familiar 
forms, though paper currency is also an important form of 
money. There is nothing mysterious about money: it is 
simply a means of facilitating exchange by saving time and 
by guaranteeing accuracy in measuring the relative values 
of commodities. 

Let us see how money actually aids in the exchange, say, 
of cattle and pianos. The farmer disposes of his cattle to a 
middleman, receiving in return money, the authenticity of 
which is guaranteed by the government’s stamp upon its 
face. There is no difficulty in making change, for money 
can be so minutely divided as to measure the value of an 
article rather exactly. The farmer does not fear that he 
could not use the money received for the cattle, for money 
is generally accepted in exchange for any commodity. The 
farmer now offers the money to the piano-owner, who is 
probably a middleman. Again the fact that money is finely 

1 The terms “money” and “capital” are often used interchangeably. 
Strictly speaking, however, money is a form of capital. Moreover, it is 
only one form of capital. 


118 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


divisible allows an accurate money measure of the value of 
the piano. The owner of the piano, if he is satisfied with 
the amount of money offered, does not hesitate to accept the 
farmer’s money, since he, too, realizes that he can use the 
money to purchase the things that he in turn desires. 

Value and price. — We have used the term “value” several 
times; as part of our preparation for the study of the great 
problem of industrial reform, we must understand precisely 
what is meant by the term. 

Suppose, for the sake of clearness, that we speak of a 
market as a definite place where goods are bought and sold. 
Individuals take or send their surplus products to the market 
for sale; individuals desiring to buy commodities likewise 
resort to the market. In the market commodities are said 
to have value, that is to say, they have power in exchange. 
The power of a commodity in exchange is measured in money, 
and the amount of money for which a commodity will ex¬ 
change is called its price. Price is thus a measure, in terms 
of money, of the value of a commodity. 

The value of a commodity in the market is dependent, 
partly upon its utility, or want-satisfying power; and partly 
upon its scarcity. In other words, the value of a com¬ 
modity depends partly upon the intensity with which it is 
desired by persons able and willing to purchase it, and partly 
upon its available supply. Price is set as the result of the 
interaction of the forces of supply and demand, this inter¬ 
action commonly taking the form of a bargaining process 
between prospective sellers and prospective buyers. 

Activities and References 
Significant Words and Phrases 

Exchange, entrepreneur, middleman, retailer, barter, money, supply and 
demand. 

Questions 

1. Give an example of exchange. 

2. Show how division of labor leads to exchange. 


EXCHANGING THE PRODUCTS OF INDUSTRY 119 


3. What is the difference between communication and transportation? 

Give three methods for each one. 

4. Distinguish between a middleman and an entrepreneur. 

5. Give an example of the useful service which a middleman performs. 

6. Are there too many middlemen? Explain. 

7. Distinguish between barter and modern trading. 

8. Money is a measure of value. Explain. 

9. Give five examples of money. 

10. Show how the law of supply and demand tends to establish prices. 

Problems 

1. Problem: To appreciate the value of communication. Method: Sup¬ 
pose that communication were no faster than transportation. Show 
the effects upon bankers, newspapers, and merchants. 

2. Problem: To learn how many middlemen handle a can of tomatoes. 
Method: Trace the tomatoes from the grower to the consumer’s table 
and list the number of people who handle them. Could some of these 
people be eliminated? How would such elimination affect the price? 

3. Problem: To appreciate the convenience of money. Method: Without 
using money, try to estimate the comparative value of a horse and a 
cow, a bicycle and a canoe. 

4. Problem: To examine the real value of an article. Method: Consider 
an advertised bargain. Suppose the advertisement claims to have 
$25 suits for sale at $18. Are they $25 or $18 suits? Explain. 


References 

Burch, American Economic Life 

Carver, Elementary Economics 

Ely and Wicker, Elementary Principles of Economics 

Faubel, Principles of Economics 

Fay, Elements of Economics 

Janzen and Stephenson, Everyday Economics 

Williamson, Readings in American Democracy 


CHAPTER XII 


BANKING AND CREDIT 

Some preliminary definitions. — In the previous chapter 
we studied exchange, which is a rather abstract term. Actu¬ 
ally people seldom exchange articles directly , but they are 
constantly exchanging articles and services indirectly. In 
this chapter we shall examine two great factors which play 
a large part in this constant exchange. Let us first clarify 
our ideas of certain useful terms. 

Credit refers to a promise to pay money or its equiva¬ 
lent at a future date. A bank is an institution which makes 
it its special business to deal in money and credit. A check 
is a written order directing a bank to pay a certain sum 
of money to a designated person. A bank note is a piece 
of paper money or currency which constitutes the bank’s 
promise to pay in coin and on demand without interest, the 
sum named on the face of the note. A reserve fund is an 
amount of money or securities which a bank habitually 
keeps on hand as a partial guarantee that it will be able to 
meet its obligations. 

Types of banks. — Of the several types of banks, the sav¬ 
ings bank is perhaps the most familiar to young people. A 
savings bank usually receives deposits of one dollar or more, 
and pays interest on these amounts. But the savings bank 
does not pay out money on checks drawn against deposits. 
Indeed, it may require a formal notice of several days or 
weeks before deposits can be withdrawn. 

In many states there are trust companies. In addition 
to performing the function of a commercial bank, trust 
companies take care of valuable papers, execute trusts and 
wills and sometimes guarantee titles to land. 

120 . 


BANKING AND CREDIT 


121 


The investment bank is usually a private institution, con¬ 
ducted chiefly in the interests of certain large industrial 
organizations. 

A fourth type of bank is the commercial bank, with which 
this chapter is chiefly concerned. The commercial bank 
derives its name from the fact that it deals largely with 
business men. If classified on the basis of their charters, 
rather than on the basis of functions, commercial banks may 
be either National, State, or private. 

Primary function of banks . 1 — The primary function of a 
commercial bank is to receive the deposits of persons who 
have saved sums of money for which they have no immediate 
use and to make loans to persons who desire them. Of course, 
those who have deposited sums with a bank may draw on 
their accounts at any time, either themselves demanding 
sums of the bank, or directing the bank, by means of checks, 
to pay specified sums to others. But experience has taught 
the bank that if it keeps on hand a reserve fund equal to a 
fairly large per cent of the sums for which it is liable to de¬ 
positors, it will ordinarily be able to meet all the demands 
for cash which depositors will be likely to make upon it. 
The bank may then lend out to business men the remainder 
of the money deposited with it. This not only encourages 
production, but it allows the bank to secure a reward for 
its services. This reward is in the form of interest paid by 
those who borrow from the bank. 

The nature of bank credit. — When an individual actually 
deposits with a bank $100 in cash, the bank becomes owner 
of the $100, and in turn writes down on its books the promise 
to pay to the depositor, as he shall direct, amounts totalling 
$100. The depositor receives a check book, and may draw 
part or all of the $100, as he likes. 

Now it may happen that an individual may wish to in¬ 
crease his checking account at the bank, but that he has no 
actual cash with which to make a deposit with the bank. 

1 Throughout the remainder of this chapter the word “bank” should 
be taken as referring to the commercial bank. 


122 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


In this case he may give the bank his promissory note, 
together with stocks, bonds, or other forms of wealth, which 
the bank holds as security. In return, the bank credits 
him with a “deposit.” This means that the bank extends 
its credit to the individual, by undertaking to honor checks 
for sums not actually received from the depositor. 

The bank has received valuable security from the borrower 
and hence feels justified in extending him a deposit credit. 
But, why does a bank feel safe in undertaking to pay out 
sums of money which it does not actually have in its vaults? 
The answer is that the bank attempts to keep on hand a 
reserve fund sufficient to meet all demands for cash which 
may be made upon it. If the reserve fund is relatively large, 
the bank will ordinarily lend its credit freely. If the cash 
reserve is relatively low, the conservative bank may refuse 
further loans, on the grounds that its cash reserve is too 
low to justify the acceptance of additional obligations. 

Confidence in banks. — The integrity of these various 
operations rests upon the confidence which people have in 
the bank’s ability to make good its promises. Confidence 
in the deposit credit of a bank exists when the past experience 
of depositors has taught them that the bank in question 
will habitually exchange either coin or currency for checks. 

A bank is usually able to meet these obligations promptly 
because it keeps on hand, against the demands of depositors, 
a reserve fund of cash or of securities which by law it is 
allowed to count as cash. If all of the depositors of a bank 
suddenly and simultaneously demanded the full amount of 
their deposits in coin, the bank would be unable to accommo¬ 
date them; as a matter of fact, business men normally leave 
in the bank that share of their deposits which they do not 
actually need. So long as men have confidence in a bank, 
they will prefer checks and bank notes to the less convenient 
coin. 

If properly managed a bank is a profitable business for 
everyone concerned. But even though properly managed, 
a bank may occasionally find itself in a precarious position. 


BANKING AND CREDIT 


123 


There are few matters which the average person compre¬ 
hends as vaguely as banking, and few things which more 
vitally interest him than the safety of his money. These two 
facts combine to render banking extremely sensitive to 
every rumor of unsoundness. 

Banks cannot operate without the confidence of their 
depositors. Bankers assume a difficult responsibility when 
they try to handle the great sums intrusted to their care. 
In general they have succeeded, but unfortunately hun¬ 
dreds of banks failed during the years 1930-32, 1 causing 
widespread inconvenience and some suffering. The general 
economic situation made it impossible for many borrowers 
to repay their loans, and many of the depreciated securities 
held by the banks were hopelessly insufficient to make up 
the losses. In spite of these facts, the principles of banking 
are sound, and when conservative managers handle the 
funds cautiously, the bank is as sound as any of our eco¬ 
nomic institutions. 

The national banking system. — The Civil War plunged 
our government into serious financial straits. To improve 
the finances of the Federal government there was created, 
in 1863, a system of national banks. The original act of 1863 
is still the basis of our banking system, though it has since 
been modified a number of times, notably in 1913. 

We speak of a “national banking system,’’ but as a matter 
of fact this term is inexact. From the beginning of their 
history, the so-called national banks were “national” only 
in the sense that they were chartered by the Federal govern¬ 
ment, and were subject to examination by Federal inspectors. 
These national banks constituted no definite system: they 
transacted business much as other banks did, they had no 
branches, and they had little to do with one another. There 
was little team-work, and no effective leadership, so that in 
time of a threatened panic the different parts of the “system” 
worked at cross-purposes instead of as a unit. 

1 Failures were as follows: 1928,491 failures; 1929, 642 failures; 1930 
1,345 failures; in eleven months of 1931, 1,932 failures. 


124 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


Why a banking system must be elastic. — Money and 
credit constitute a mechanism by means of which business 
is handled, just as the labor force of a factory constitutes 
a means of handling the output of the factory. If the out¬ 
put of the factory increases, a larger labor force is needed; 
if the output dwindles, fewer laborers are needed. Similarly, 
if business increases in volume, an increased amount of 
money and credit is necessary to handle the increased volume 
of business. If, on the other hand, business declines, the 
volume of money and credit ought to decline also. Other¬ 
wise, there will be so much money and credit in circulation, 
relatively to the amount of goods, that high prices will re¬ 
sult. 

High prices will result for the following reason: Money 
and credit are used to exchange for goods. As a general 
proposition, all the available goods in a community are in a 
process of exchanging against all of the available money and 
credit in the community. If goods are relatively few and 
money and credit are relatively plentiful, a small amount 
of goods can command a large amount of money and credit, 
i.e., the goods will sell for high prices. A sound banking 
system, therefore, will allow an expansion of money and 
credit instruments when business is booming, and will per¬ 
mit the contraction of the mechanism of exchange when 
business is growing dull. 

The old national banking system was inelastic in two ways: 
first, it provided an inelastic supply of deposit credit; second, 
it provided an inelastic supply of currency or bank notes. 

Inelasticity of deposit credit (reserves). — It will be re¬ 
called that the amount of loans which a bank may make 
depends upon the maintenance of an adequate reserve fund. 
From this it follows that the larger the reserve fund the 
more loans the bank will feel justified in making. Similarly, 
if the reserve fund shrinks, sound banking demands that 
loans be curtailed. Keeping these facts in mind, there were 
two reasons why the supply of deposit credit was inelastic 
before 1913. 


BANKING AND CREDIT 


125 


In the first place, individual banks kept only a part of 
their reserves actually in their vaults. The remainder, and 
sometimes the larger part, of their reserves was maintained 
in the form of deposits in other banks. Banks in towns 
and small cities habitually kept part of their reserves in the 
form of deposits in the banks of large cities, and the latter 
in turn kept part of their reserves in the banks of New York 
City, the financial center of the country. Hence the cash 
reserves of the country tended to collect in New York, where 
they were utilized by New York banks as a basis for extend¬ 
ing loans. 

This was a dangerous arrangement. In the fall of the 
year, large amounts of cash were demanded in the West in 
order to pay farm hands and otherwise “move the crops.” 
At such times the small Western banks had to demand their 
deposits in larger banks, while these in turn had to call for 
their deposits in the New York banks. The New York banks 
were often embarrassed by these demands, because they 
made a practice of fully utilizing the funds left with them, 
as a basis for extending loans. The call in the West for 
cash meant a curtailment of these loans with a consequent 
demoralization of Eastern money markets. 

In the second place, individual banks were unable to ex¬ 
tend loans to customers beyond the point justified by the 
amount of reserves in their vaults, or deposited to their 
credit in other banks. A bank with a total reserve of $10,000 
might feel justified in loaning its credit to the extent of 
$100,000, but in case demands for additional loans were made 
upon it, sound banking practice would oblige it to refuse ac¬ 
commodation. Otherwise it might later find itself unable to 
get enough cash to pay out against claims made in the form 
of checks. This practice of curtailing loans when reserves 
were depleted was demoralizing to business, since the dis¬ 
appointed customer might find his entire business blocked, 
and this in turn would inconvenience or seriously injure all 
those who were connected with him in a business way. Be¬ 
fore 1913, each bank stood as a unit, and when its reserves 


126 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


were depleted it could not secure temporary aid from other 
banks. There was no centralized control, and no method 
whereby national banks might secure help from one another. 

Inelasticity of currency (bank notes). — We have seen 
that an increased volume of business demands an increased 
volume of money and credit. In the previous section it was 
pointed out that before 1913 the volume of deposit credit in 
this country was inelastic. We must now notice that bank 
notes, or paper currency , are just as truly a part of the volume 
of money and credit as is deposit credit, and we must note, 
also, that just as deposit credit was inelastic before 1913, 
so the issue of bank notes was inelastic. Previous to 1913, 
it often happened that the supply of bank notes was smallest 
when business was expanding, and that the issue of bank 
notes increased during dull business periods. This statement 
requires some explanation. 

The Act of 1863 provided that national banks might issue 
bank notes only after depositing in the Federal Treasury an 
amount of United States government bonds sufficient to 
render the bank notes absolutely safe. Naturally, the banks 
made heavy purchases of bonds when the bond market was 
depressed, and tended to purchase relatively few bonds when 
those securities were high in price. Since the only reason for 
purchasing bonds was to enable the banks to issue notes, 
more notes were issued when bonds were low in price, and 
fewer were issued when bonds were high. Unfortunately, 
the same general conditions that stimulated business also 
tended to raise the price of bonds, while the causes of slack 
business often operated to lower bond prices. This means 
that when business was expanding, and more notes were 
needed, bonds were so high that few were purchased, and 
consequently few notes were issued. Similarly, when busi¬ 
ness was dull, more bonds were purchased, and more notes 
issued. 

The panic of 1907. — The panic of 1907 attracted atten¬ 
tion to these two great defects of the old national banking 
system, i.e., the inelasticity of deposit credit and the inelas- 


BANKING AND CREDIT 


127 


ticity of currency. In the fall of 1907, a bumper crop caused 
Western banks to make unusually large demands for cash 
upon the New York banks. Unfortunately, this depletion 
of reserves came at precisely the time when the demand 
upon New York banks for loans was greatest. There was 
thus increased pressure exerted upon New York banks for 
loans, but less justification for extending them. In response 
to the pressure for loans, some New York banks over¬ 
extended their credit. In October the inability of a few 
prominent banks to pay in cash all of the demands made 
upon them started a series of bank “runs.” Even solvent 
institutions were unable to meet their obligations promptly 
and many failures occurred. A large number of banks were 
technically insolvent, that is to say, their assets were in¬ 
vested in forms which prevented their immediate conversion 
into cash, so that for the time being demands for cash could 
not be met. The lack of an effective banking system pre¬ 
vented these banks from securing temporary aid from banks 
more favorably situated. 

Reform. — The panic of 1907 stimulated financial experts 
to attempt to remedy the defects of our banking system. 
In 1908 a monetary commission was appointed to investigate 
banking experience at home and abroad. As the result of 
this investigation it appeared advisable to establish a system 
which should secure some of the advantages of such central¬ 
ized banking systems as have long existed in many Euro¬ 
pean countries. A single central government bank was at 
first recommended by experts, but this was deemed politically 
inexpedient. In view of this fact resort was had to a compro¬ 
mise between a centralized and a decentralized system. This 
compromise was effected by the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. 

Framework of the Federal Reserve system. — The Act 
of 1913 is administered by the Federal Reserve Board, con¬ 
sisting of the Secretary of the Treasury and the Comptroller 
of the Currency, ex officio , and five other members appointed 
for ten years by the President. The country is divided into 
twelve districts, in each of which there is located a Federal 


128 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


Reserve bank. In each district every national bank must 
subscribe six per cent of its capital and surplus for stock 
in the Federal Reserve bank, and thus become a “member’' 
bank. State banks and trust companies may, upon the ful¬ 
fillment of certain conditions, become member banks. Each 
Federal Reserve bank is governed by a board of nine di¬ 
rectors, six of whom are elected by the member banks of 



Can you figure out the principle on which the banks were located? Only one state has 
two main banks? Which state? 

its district, and three of whom are appointed by the Federal 
Reserve Board. The Federal Reserve banks are bankers’ 
banks, that is, they do not ordinarily deal directly with 
individuals, but with member banks only. 

Elasticity of deposit credit (reserves). — The piling up 
of bank reserves in New York is impossible under the Federal 
Reserve system. The reserves of any member bank do not 
ordinarily move beyond the district, for a member bank may 
count as legal reserve only those funds which it has placed 
on deposit in the Federal Reserve bank of its district. There 
exists what may be called district centralization of reserves; 









BANKING AND CREDIT 


129 


that is to say, ail of the legal reserves of all the member 
banks of a particular district are concentrated in the Federal 
Reserve bank of the district, and can be utilized as a unit 
by that Federal Reserve bank. If in time of stress the total 
reserves of the district are insufficient, the Federal Reserve 
Board may arrange for the temporary transfer of surplus 
funds from one Federal Reserve district to another. This 
secures one of the most important advantages of a central 
bank without actual centralization. 

Elasticity of deposit credit is also provided for in the 
‘ ‘ rediscounting device.” A bank discounts commercial paper 
when it lends an individual, say, $980, on the security of 
a $1000 promissory note. The $20 represents an amount 
which the bank counts out, or discounts, as payment for 
the service. A further operation, long known in Europe as 
rediscounting, was authorized by the Act of 1913. When 
the reserves of a member bank are too low to justify further 
extensions of deposit credit, the bank can send certain types 
of discounted paper to the Federal Reserve bank of its 
district, and receive in return either a deposit credit or a 
special form of paper currency called Federal Reserve notes. 

Elasticity of currency (bank notes). — When, in return 
for discounted commercial paper, the Federal Reserve bank 
extends a deposit credit to the member bank, the deposit 
credit of the member bank is rendered more elastic. When, 
on the other hand, the Federal Reserve bank sends the mem¬ 
ber bank Federal Reserve notes in exchange for discounted 
paper, the result is a certain elasticity in the currency. 

The Federal Reserve notes are a new type of currency. 
They are secured by the maintenance, in the vaults of the 
Federal Reserve banks, of a forty per cent gold reserve for 
their redemption. Since these notes are issued to member 
banks in return for rediscounted paper, the expansion of 
business and the resultant tendency of member banks to 
send discounted paper to the Federal Reserve bank for re¬ 
discount causes the volume of Federal Reserve notes to ex¬ 
pand. When the need for additional currency has subsided 


130 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


there is an arrangement whereby a certain amount of the 
Federal Reserve notes may be withdrawn from circulation. 
This is important, for if the amount of money in circulation 
continues to be enormous after business has declined, infla¬ 
tion and high prices result. A truly elastic banking system 
necessitates contraction as well as expansion. 

Federal Reserve notes are backed by security, consisting 
of at least a forty per cent gold reserve. The other sixty 
per cent may consist of either gold or commercial paper, i.e., 
stocks, bonds, notes, etc. In February, 1932, Congress 
passed the Glass-Steagall Bill which allowed the banks to 
substitute government securities for commercial paper. This 
measure released about $700,000,000 in gold, but it did not 
lessen the forty per cent gold reserve. The law was an 
emergency measure and its duration was limited to one year. 
Its significance lies in the fact that it demonstrates the elas¬ 
ticity of the Federal Reserve system. 

Good features of the Federal Reserve system. — On the 
whole, it would seem that the Federal Reserve system is a 
happy compromise between the centralized banking systems 
of Europe and the highly decentralized system existing in 
this country prior to 1913. The Federal Reserve system 
allows us to secure the main benefits of a great central bank 
without the political difficulties attendant upon the exist¬ 
ence of such a bank. It does a great deal to make elastic our 
supply of money and credit. The Federal Reserve Board 
can mobilize the entire banking strength of the country in 
time of stress, so that the strength of one member bank is 
the strength of the whole system. Since it controls not 
only a substantial proportion of the bank reserves of the 
country, but also the privilege of note issue on the security 
of rediscounted paper, the Federal Reserve Board can ad¬ 
minister the member banks as a unit. The system may not 
eliminate panics, but it is fair to expect that it will reduce 
their number and lessen their violence. 

Agricultural banks. — The Federal Reserve system does 
not, however, take care of all our needs for an elastic supply 


BANKING AND CREDIT 


131 


of money and credit. One of these needs is created by those 
engaged in agriculture. Commercial banks lend money for 
short periods of time, rarely beyond six months. This prac¬ 
tice led to the practical denial of banking assistance to the 
farmer, who requires long periods in which to develop his 
farm and raise his crops. This situation led to the passage 
in 1916 of the Federal Farm Loan Act, which provided for 



Federal Farm Loan System 

One city has both a main Federal Reserve Bank and a Farm Loan Bank. 
What city is it? 


the formation of farmer loan associations. The country 
was divided into twelve districts, and associations were 
formed in each. With assistance from the national govern¬ 
ment, these associations established Federal Land banks. 
From these banks the farmer can secure loans for long peri¬ 
ods, from five to forty years, on first mortgages to one-half 
the value of his farm plus twenty per cent of the value of 
farm improvements. By June, 1930, under the provisions 
of this act, farmers had borrowed over one and three-fourths 
billion dollars. The interest rate is reasonable, and thus 
the farmer has escaped the pernicious system of renewal 









132 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


commissions which he was formerly compelled to pay. The 
Agricultural Credits Act of 1922 also extended credit on 
agricultural products for a period of six months to five years. 

Small loans. — One problem of credit which remains 
largely unsolved is that of small loans. Many cities are 
infested with loan sharks, salary buyers, and pawnshops 
which charge exorbitant interest rates on small loans to the 
people least able to pay such rates. In one city in the North¬ 
west, for example, some loan companies charge fees and in¬ 
terest which amount to more than 120 per cent interest a 
year. 

The Russell Sage Foundation took up the cause a few 
years ago and succeeded in getting several states to pass 
laws restricting interest rates to three and one-half per cent 
a month. Some states, for example, Missouri, have reduced 
the rate to two and one-half per cent a month, but others 
have neglected to provide facilities whereby people with 
small incomes can secure reasonable credit. In general, 
business men, farmers, and professional people have access 
to bank credit, but many poor wage earners are forced to 
borrow from those who charge rates that vary from 30 per 
cent to more than 120 per cent a year. 

Home-Loan Discount banks. — President Hoover, late 
in 1931, urged Congress to pass a law providing for a system 
of banks specially designed to aid the home owner. These 
banks, called Home-Loan Discount banks, are companions 
to the Federal Reserve banks and Federal Land banks. 
They enable the home owner to borrow reasonable sums 
over long periods at reasonable rates, thus promoting the 
availability and flexibility of our credit system for the com¬ 
mon citizen. The measure is thus another attempt to help 
the person who cannot otherwise secure credit and to save 
him from having to pay renewal commissions for the privi¬ 
lege of borrowing money on his house. 

The mobilization of credit. — Local banks are able to 
finance local business men to a limited extent. Larger firms 
which require larger sums must appeal to the investing pub- 


From Book Illustrations Service, N.Y. Photo by de Vos Painting by A. Karoly 

THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE 

What is the function of a stock exchange? Why is the one pictured here of special importance? 



























Central Bank and Trust Company, Chicago 

BANKING ROOM IN A LARGE BANK 


In what ways can a bank be useful to all members of a community? 


















BANKING AND CREDIT 


133 


lie. How do these firms which need money get in touch with 
the investing public — those who have money to lend? 

The corporations which need money usually issue promis¬ 
sory notes called bonds, or they issue shares called stocks, 
and offer these stocks and bonds for sale. How does the 
investing public learn about, and through what agency can 
it buy these stocks and bonds? The connecting link between 
them is the stock exchange. 

The best known of these exchanges is the one in New York. 
It is a complicated and intricate institution, but in principle 
it is very simple. It is a vast clearing house for the exchange 
of invested capital. Its members sell and buy the stocks 
which are listed with the exchange. Its operations are im¬ 
portant for several reasons. (1) The transactions on the ex¬ 
change establish a price for stocks and bonds. (2) The rapid 
turnover of securities enables an investor to utilize his money 
for even a short period. (3) The exchange serves as a guide 
to the investing public, for stocks which command low prices 
are avoided and vice versa. (4) The exchange aids the flow 
of capital into industry, for investors are willing to place 
their money in the bonds of reliable concerns. 

The exchange enables an investor in North Dakota, acting 
through a broker in his home town or in New York, to buy 
stock in a Connecticut company from a man in South Caro¬ 
lina, who has some stock in the Connecticut company which 
he has put on the New York exchange for sale. The real 
investor buys the stock outright; the mere speculator starts 
to buy it on the installment plan. If the value of the stock 
falls decidedly, the latter may lose all that he has put into it. 

Similar exchanges may be found in various cities, such as 
Boston, Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San 
Francisco. 

Activities and References 
Significant Words and Phrases 

Indirect exchange, credit, check, hank note, currency, reserve fund, savings 
bank, trust company, commercial bank, investment bank, interest, security , 


134 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


depositor, loan, elasticity, panic, agricultural bank, discount, stock market, 
bank balance, promissory note, national bank, loan shark, mobilization oj 
credit, stock exchange. 


Questions 

1. What is the difference between money and credit? 

2. Name and give the functions of four types of banks. 

3. What is the primary function of a bank? 

4. Who pays for the expenses involved in running banks? 

5. Name two advantages of using checks. 

6. What determines the amount a bank is willing to lend a certain 

individual? 

7. What determines the reserve necessary for a bank to keep on hand? 

8. Why are some banks safe, and others not? 

9. Why did so many banks fail in 1930-32? 

10. What is implied by the term “national bank”? 

11. Why should a banking system be elastic? 

12. Explain the inelasticity of deposit credit before 1913. 

13. How does the Act of 1913 provide for elastic deposit credit? For an 

elastic bank note issue? 

14. Explain clearly the “rediscounting device” and its practical value in 

preventing panics. 

15. How successful is the Federal Reserve Banking System? 

16. What special provisions have been made to help give proper credit 

facilities to farmers? 

17. What class of borrowers have as yet not received adequate protection? 

18. What should be the government’s part in our credit system? 

19. Explain the work of a stock exchange. 

Problems 

1. Problem: To learn the working of a modern bank. Method: Visit a 
large city bank. Write a report including in your observations the 
words on the various windows and explaining the duties of the men 
behind the windows. If possible, ask to be shown the vaults for pro¬ 
tecting the bank’s money and customers’ valuables. 

2. Problem: To explain clearly the function of the clearing house, and its 
indispensability in modern business. Method: Give a talk to the class, 
illustrating it by diagrams and figures on the board. From a large 
city newspaper get the bank clearings for one day. 

3. Problem: To learn how to use a checking system. Method: Have one 
member of the class visit a bank to learn the system employed. Let 
him explain the system in class, using actual blank checks, filled-in 
checks, stubs, and monthly statements. How large a balance must be 


BANKING AND CREDIT 135 

maintained in order to keep a checking account in your local banks? 
Why? 

4. Problem: To learn the legal form for a promissory note. Method: 
Consult a commercial law book, or still better, get a blank promissory 
note from a bank and read the note to the class. 

5. Problem: To investigate the credit situation of the small borrower in 
your community. Method: Interview the local head of the associated 
charities or a bank official. What is the legal rate of interest? How 
is this often evaded? What means do firms use to collect debts? 

6. Problem: To understand the Federal Reserve System. Method: Read 
in Williamson, Readings in American Democracy, 423-429, and present 
your findings in a report. Study the map of the system given in this 
text. 

References 

Faubel, Principles of Economics 

Fay, Elements of Economics 

Janzen and Stephenson, Everyday Economics 

Keister, Our Financial System 

Williamson, Readings in American Democracy 


CHAPTER XIII 


A PROGRAM OF INDUSTRIAL REFORM 1 

There is no simple remedy for the defects of capitalism. — 

The economic system of a modern civilized nation is a vast 
and complicated affair, and its defects are both numerous 
and deep-lying. No one really familiar with the problem 
would propose one simple remedy for so complex a disease 
as industrial maladj ustment. History affords many examples 
of schemes that were designed to eliminate poverty from the 
world suddenly and completely, but no such scheme has 
succeeded. 

Let it be understood at the outset of this chapter, therefore, 
that really to eliminate the basic defects of our industrial 
system we must resort to a series of comprehensive reforms 
rather than to a single scheme or theory. These reforms must 
be so wisely planned and so carefully executed as to attack 
the evils of capitalism from a number of angles simultane¬ 
ously. The attack must be partly by legislative and partly 
by non-legislative methods. 

The series of reforms referred to above must have three 
aims: first, to give every individual what he earns; second, 
to make it possible for every individual to earn enough to 
support himself and his family; and third, to teach every 
individual to use wisely and economically the income which 
he receives. 

A program embodying these three aims has the disadvan¬ 
tage of seeming commonplace and slow of fulfillment to those 

1 Much of the material in this chapter has been adapted, by permission, 
from the writings and lectures of Thomas Nixon Carver, Professor of 
Economics in Harvard University. 

136 


A PROGRAM OF INDUSTRIAL REFORM 137 

who prefer novel and sensational schemes, but it has the ad¬ 
vantage of being both workable and safe. 

The nature of justice. — Justice in industry implies that 
every individual shall receive precisely what he earns, no 
more, no less. If a monopolist secures unearned profits, there 
is injustice. If a laborer adds to the value of a product to 
the extent of five dollars, there is injustice if he receives less 
than five dollars in wages. Similarly, there is injustice if the 
laborer earns only four dollars, but receives five dollars. 
Wherever there is an unfair distribution of wealth, there is 
a double injustice: some individual gets a share of wealth 
which he did not earn and to which, therefore, he is not 
entitled; while the individual who did earn that wealth is 
deprived of it. 

The importance of this. — Most reformers will agree that 
much or all of the unearned wealth of the moneyed classes 
ought to be taken for the benefit of the community. But 
he who accepts the democratic program of industrial reform 
will not sanction the proposal to eliminate poverty primarily 
by decreeing higher wages. 

In the first place, this proposal is unjust. A man who 
earns three dollars a day may not be able to live on that 
amount, and it may be desirable for some agency to give him 
more than three dollars a day. But that would be charity, not 
justice. It would be, as we have just seen, a double injustice. 

In the second place, such a practice would lead inevitably 
to national bankruptcy. Under the competitive system, 
wages tend to be determined by productivity. To attempt 
to eradicate poverty primarily by the raising of wages is 
futile, for employers cannot long pay out in wages more than 
the laborer adds to the product. Some employers might do 
so for a long time, and all employers might do so for a short 
time, but if the practice were nation-wide and long-continued, 
it would result in economic ruin. To put a premium upon 
inefficiency by guaranteeing every man a job, and to pay 
him, not according to productivity, but according to need, 
would be equivalent to building up a gigantic charitable 


138 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


institution. Charity is a necessary and laudable function, 
but the proper care of the dependent classes is possible only 
when the majority of the people are not only self-supporting, 
but actually produce a surplus out of which the unfortunate 
can be cared for. If applicants for charity too largely out¬ 
number those producing a surplus, national bankruptcy re¬ 
sults. 

The redistribution of unearned wealth. — The first step 
in our program is to apply the principle of justice to the 
problem of unearned wealth. The student should be careful 
at this point to distinguish between wealth which has been 
earned, however great, and wealth which has been acquired 
by unjust methods. American democracy will tolerate no 
interference with wealth which has been earned; on the other 
hand, it demands that unearned riches be redistributed in the 
form of services performed by the government for the people 
as a whole. 

There are three chief methods of redistributing unearned 
wealth. The first is by means of increased taxes on land. 
That income from land which is due, not to the efforts of the 
owner, but either to natural fertility or to the growth of the 
community, may be considered as unearned. It is probable 
that we need heavier taxes upon the unearned increment 
arising from land. 

A second method of redistributing unearned wealth is 
through the application of inheritance taxes. Reserving the 
whole problem of taxation for later discussion, it may be 
said here that in many cases large sums are willed to indi¬ 
viduals who have done little or nothing to deserve them. In 
so far as this is true, and in so far as such a tax does not dis¬ 
courage the activities of fortune builders, the inheritance tax 
is a desirable means of redistributing unearned wealth. 

The last method of redistributing unearned wealth is by a 
tax on those elements in profits which are due to the abuse of 
monopoly conditions. Complete monopoly rarely exists, but 
in many businesses there is an element of monopoly which 
allows the capitalist or entrepreneur to secure a measure of 


A PROGRAM OF INDUSTRIAL REFORM 139 

unearned wealth. In the interest of justice, much or all of 
this ought to be taken for the use of the community. 

Something more than justice is necessary. — It is an 
error to suppose that justice would necessarily eliminate 
either low wages or poverty. As we have seen, justice would 
require the redistribution of a large amount of unearned 
wealth. But much more important is the question of large 
numbers of laborers whose wages are undesirably low. If 
the rule of justice were applied to this latter class, that is, if 
they were given just what they earned, many would continue 
to be poor. Indeed, if justice were strictly administered, it is 
even possible that among a few groups poverty would in¬ 
crease, since some individuals are incapable of really earning 
the wages they now receive. 

Something more than justice, therefore, is necessary. We 
must not only see that a man gets as much as he produces, no 
more, no less, but we must make it possible for every indi¬ 
vidual actually to produce or earn enough to support himself 
decently and comfortably. 

Why wages are low. — A little thought will show that 
directly or indirectly poverty is sometimes the result of low 
wages. It follows, thus, that the source of some poverty 
would be dried up if an increase in wages could be secured in 
an economical manner. To come to the heart of the problem, 
wages are low because productivity is low. That is to say, 
employers operating under conditions of free competition will 
pay laborers in proportion as the latter give promise of adding 
to the value of the product. When men are scarce, relatively 
to the supply of land and capital, the employer will be justi¬ 
fied in offering high wages, because under those circumstances 
the productivity of each of his prospective employees will be 
high. He will actually offer high wages, because if he does 
not, the laborers will tend to hire out to his competitors. 
But if laborers are plentiful, relatively to the supply of the 
other factors of production, the employer will be forced to 
offer lower wages, because under the circumstances each of 
the prospective employees shows promise of being able to 


140 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


add relatively little to the value of the product. In such a 
case, the employer will actually offer low wages because he 
need not fear that his competitors will hire all of the laborers 
applying for jobs. 

Thus when laborers are plentiful, relatively to the demand, 
the automatic functioning of the law of supply and demand 
will result in low wages. We need not waste time debating 
whether or not there ought to be such a thing as the law of 
supply and demand; a far more profitable exercise is to 
recognize that such a law exists, and to consider how our 
program of industrial reform may be adapted to it. 

An economical remedy for low wages. — Low wages are 
generally the result of low productivity, and low productivity 
is in turn the result of an oversupply of laborers relatively to 
the demand. Granting the truth of these premises, an eco¬ 
nomical remedy for low wages involves two steps: first, the 
demand for labor 1 must be increased; and second, the supply 
of labor must be decreased. Any measure which will increase 
the demand for labor, relatively to the demand for the other 
factors of production, will increase the productivity of labor, 
and will justify the payment of higher wages. Competition 
between prospective employers will then actually force the 
payment of higher wages. Similarly, any measure which will 
decrease the supply of labor will strengthen the bargaining 
position of the laborer, and, other things remaining equal, 
will automatically increase wages. 

Increasing the demand for labor. — If we bear in mind that 
modern industry requires a combination of the various factors 
of production, it will be seen that the utilization of laborers 
depends upon the extent to which land, capital, and entre¬ 
preneur ability are present to combine with those laborers. 
Where there is a large supply of these factors many laborers 
can be set to work. Thus one way of increasing the demand 
for labor is to increase the supply of land, capital, and en¬ 
trepreneur ability. 

1 By “labor” is here meant those types of labor which are poorly paid, 
because oversupplied. Unskilled day labor is an example. 


A PROGRAM OF INDUSTRIAL REFORM 141 

The available supply of land can be increased by several 
methods. Irrigation, reclamation, and dry farming increase 
the available’supply of farm land. The fertility of land may 
be retained and increased by manuring, rotation of crops, and 
careful husbandry. Improved agricultural machinery will 
also enable land to be used in larger quantities and in more 
productive ways. And while we do not think of man as 
actually creating land, the draining of swamps and the filling 
in of low places increase the available amount of both farm 
and urban land. By whatever means the amount of available 
land is increased, the effect is to open more avenues to the 
employment of laborers. 

The supply of capital may be increased chiefly by the prac¬ 
tice of thrift among all classes of the population. Capital 
arises most rapidly when individuals produce as much as 
possible, and spend as little as possible for consumers’ goods. 
Any measure which will discourage the well-to-do from waste¬ 
ful or luxurious ways of living, and at the same time en¬ 
courage the poor to save systematically, even though they 
save only a trifle, will add to the supply of available capital. 
Every increase in the supply of capital will enable more and 
more laborers to be set to work. 

Entrepreneur ability may be increased by a variety of 
methods. The training of men for business callings increases 
the supply of entrepreneurs. Taxes on inheritances, excess 
profits, and the unearned increment of land will tend to 
force into productive work many capable men who are now 
idle. 

Under present conditions, there is apparently no need of 
more land, and the supply of capital appears to be adequate, 
but managerial ability seems to be sadly lacking. Proper 
coordination ought to result in ample work for those who are 
able and willing. Thus the problem of consumption comes 
in to complicate the problem of increasing the demand for 
labor. It is clear that entrepreneurs will not arrange for the 
production of more shoes when the people cannot afford to 
buy more shoes. Thus we may say that increasing land, 


142 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


labor, and entrepreneur ability are necessary, but the public 
must be able and willing to buy the products of industry 
before more jobs can be created. 

Decreasing the supply of labor. — Hand in hand with 
measures designed to increase the demand for labor should go 
consistent efforts to decrease the supply of unskilled and 
poorly paid labor. One of the most effective means of ac¬ 
complishing this is to restrict by law the immigration to this 
country of masses of unskilled workers which glut the Ameri¬ 
can labor market and force down the wages of unskilled 
workmen already here. The general problem of immigration 
will be discussed elsewhere; here it is only necessary to note 
that as an economic proposition unrestricted immigration is 
undesirable. 

The supply of unskilled labor may be somewhat restricted 
by additional laws. It is clear that we ought to pass and 
enforce laws which would prevent the propagation of mental 
defectives. There ought also to be laws which would dis¬ 
courage the marriage of individuals who show no promise 
of being able to rear and support children who are physically 
fit. It might not be expedient to pass legislation requiring 
a certain minimum income of persons intending to marry, 
but from the purely economic point of view, such laws might 
be desirable. 

Much in this general field can be done by non-legislative 
methods. Young people can be taught the desirability of 
postponing marriage until their earnings justify the accept¬ 
ance of such a responsibility. Just as the well-to-do should be 
encouraged to prefer family-building to social ambition, so 
the poorer classes ought to be encouraged to postpone mar¬ 
riage until, through education or training, the proper support 
of a family is assured. This end must be secured through 
moral and social education, rather than through legislation. 

The encouragement of thrift among the poorer classes of 
the population is an important factor in decreasing the supply 
of unskilled labor. Thrift increases savings, and by making 
possible education or apprenticeship in a trade, it enables the 


A PROGRAM OF INDUSTRIAL REFORM 


143 


children of the unskilled worker to pass from the ranks of the 
poorly paid to the ranks of the relatively well paid. Thus not 
only does the practice of thrift by the poor add to the amount 
of capital in existence, and thus indirectly increase the de¬ 
mand for labor, but it helps the poor directly and immedi¬ 
ately. 

Vocational education is of fundamental importance in de¬ 
creasing the supply of unskilled labor. It renders higher 
wages economically justified by training individuals away 
from overcrowded and hence poorly paid jobs, and toward 
those positions in which men are scarce, and hence highly 
paid. If vocational education turns unskilled workmen into 
entrepreneurs, such education has the doubly beneficial effect 
of lessening the supply of unskilled labor, and of increasing 
the demand for labor. The importance of trade schools, 
continuation schools, and other agencies of vocational educa¬ 
tion can hardly be exaggerated. 

Employment bureaus and labor exchanges are essential to 
the democratic program of industrial reform. Just as voca¬ 
tional education must move individuals from overcrowded 
to undercrowded occupations, so the employment bureau 
should move laborers from places where they are relatively 
little wanted, and hence poorly paid, to places where they 
are relatively much wanted, and hence better paid. A co¬ 
ordinated system of national, state, and municipal employ¬ 
ment bureaus is a valuable part of our program of industrial 
reform. 

Importance of personal efficiency. — We have seen that 
the bargaining position of the laborer may be strengthened 
by any and all measures which would increase the demand for 
his labor, relative to the demand for the other factors of 
production. As a general proposition, this strengthened 
position would tend automatically to result in higher wages. 

Along with these measures it should not be forgotten that 
the industrial position of the individual worker tends to im¬ 
prove in proportion as he increases his personal efficiency. 
It is of the greatest importance that the individual should 


144 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


strive to secure as thorough an education as possible, and 
that he safeguard himself against accident and disease. He 
should realize, also, that employers seek men who are not 
only competent, but whose personal habits are attractive 
and trust-inspiring. Regardless of the scarcity or oversupply 
of labor, personal efficiency will tend to enable the worker to 
receive larger wages than would otherwise be possible. 

Something more than high wages is necessary. — We 
have taken some time to point out how wages might be in¬ 
creased without violating economic law. But high wages do 
not necessarily mean the abolition of poverty, indeed, actual 
investigations have proved that often poverty exists regard¬ 
less of whether wages are high or low. A family of four, for 
example, might be well fed, comfortably clothed, and other¬ 
wise cared for in a normal manner, on, say, three dollars a 
day, provided that sum were utilized wisely. A second family 
of equal size, however, might spend six dollars a day so care¬ 
lessly that the children would be denied such vital necessities 
as medical attention and elementary education, while neither 
parents nor children would be adequately provided with food 
or clothing. 

Income must be utilized wisely. — Thus an indispensable 
factor in the abolition of poverty is the economical utilization 
of income. Aside from the fact that it increases the amount 
of capital in existence, thrift is imperative if a family is to 
get the full benefit of its income. In both the home and 
the school the child should be taught the proper care and uti¬ 
lization of money. He should receive, in addition, funda¬ 
mental instruction in such matters as expense-accounting and 
budget-making. Of similarly great value is the training of 
boys and girls to a proper appreciation of the home-making 
ideal. 

It is fortunate that we are directing more and more atten¬ 
tion to these and similar measures, for they strike at the heart 
of one of the great causes of poverty — the inability of the 
individual to make the proper use of his income. Unless our 
citizens are trained to spend money wisely, and to distinguish 


A PROGRAM OF INDUSTRIAL REFORM 


145 


clearly between the relative values of services and commod¬ 
ities, an increase in wages will never eliminate malnutrition, 
illiteracy, and other elements of poverty. 

Summary. — For the sake of clearness, let us summarize 
the essential features of the democratic program of industrial 
reform. 

The first aim of this program is to give every individual 
what he earns. Applying the principle of justice would 
result in heavy taxes on unearned wealth secured through 
inheritance, or as rent from land, or as monopoly profits. 

The second aim of our program arises from the fact that 
justice might not improve the condition of the laboring class, 
since some laborers manifestly could not earn enough to sup¬ 
port themselves and their families decently. 

In addition to administering justice, therefore, we must put 
the individual in a position to earn an amount adequate to 
his needs. This involves two lines of action: first, the bar¬ 
gaining position of the laborer must be strengthened by meas¬ 
ures designed to increase the demand for his labor, relatively 
to the demand for the other factors of production; second, 
increasing the personal efficiency of the worker will render 
him more attractive to the employer. 

The third aim of the democratic program of industrial re¬ 
form is to teach the individual to use his income wisely and 
economically. Only after this has been done can we be as¬ 
sured that the raising of wages will materially improve the 
condition of the worker. 

Social problems. — There is an important word to be said 
here. The democratic program of industrial reform is eco¬ 
nomically sound, and ultimately it would eliminate poverty. 
But it is not an immediate cure for all of the social and 
economic ills of American democracy. There will long con¬ 
tinue to be persons whom no amount of care can render 
capable of earning enough to support themselves. There 
are many other individuals who may ultimately become 
self-supporting, but who for some time to come will need 
special care and attention. There are, lastly, many other 


146 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


individuals who are partially or entirely self-supporting, — 
women and children, for example, — but whose social and 
economic interests need to be safeguarded by legislation. The 
democratic program of industrial reform could ultimately 
eliminate many of the basic social problems now confronting 
us; meantime we are under the necessity of grappling with 
such questions as labor disputes, the risks of industry, crime, 
and dependency. Indeed, no matter how vigorously and 
intelligently we attack the defects of capitalism, it is probable 
that we shall always have to face grave social problems. 

Activities and References 
Significant Words and Phrases 

Reform, maladjustment, earned wealth, unearned wealth, comprehensive, 
national bankruptcy, productivity, panacea, personal efficiency, vocational 
guidance, budget. 

Questions 

1. Why is there no simple remedy for the defects of capitalism? 

2. What are the three aims of the program advanced in this chapter? 

3. What is the fair amount which each worker ought to receive? 

4. In what sense is an unfair distribution of wealth a double injustice? 

5. Why is there a limit to the point to which wages can be raised? What 

would be the result of exceeding this point? 

6. What are three methods of redistributing unearned wealth? 

7. Why does the elimination of poverty demand something more than 

justice? 

8. What is the fundamental cause of low wages? Explain clearly. 

9. What is a sound remedy for low wages? On what economic law is this 

based? 

10. What is the economic justification for vocational guidance? 

11. By what three methods may the demand for labor be increased? 

Explain in detail each method. 

12. Name some of the methods whereby the supply of labor may be 

decreased. 

13. What is the importance of personal efficiency in our program? 

14. What is poverty? What is its relation to wages? 

15. What is the importance of an economical utilization of income? 

16. Summarize the argument in this chapter. 

17. Why is the program outlined not an immediate panacea for all social 

and economic ills? 


A PROGRAM OF INDUSTRIAL REFORM 


147 


Problems 

1. Problem: To understand the term “industrial maladjustment.” 
Method: List ten examples of industrial problems, such as industrial 
accidents, long hours, transportation to and from work, etc. Point 
out possible remedies for each. 

2. Problem: To understand the term “unearned income.” Method: List 
five kinds of unearned incomes. Present your list to the class. After 
receiving their criticisms, do you still think that all five are examples 
of unearned income? Is inherited wealth earned or unearned? Explain. 

3. Problem: The text says that unearned riches should be redistributed in 
the form of services performed by the government. What does this 
mean? Method: List five services which government now performs 
for its citizens. List five others which you think it should perform. 
Give your reasons. 

4. Problem: The overcrowded trades and professions. Are there too 
many teachers? Lawyers? Bricklayers? Method: Explain how voca¬ 
tional guidance might help the situation. Why does the manager of 
an employment bureau know the demands in the different trades? 
Could this advice be used in the training of workers? 

References 

Arnold, Problems in American Life 
Carver, Elementary Economics 
Williamson, Introduction to Economics 
-, Readings in American Democracy 


CHAPTER XIV 


PROFIT SHARING AND COOPERATION 

Introduction. — We noted in the last chapter that no one 
reform is going to revolutionize industry. The most radical 
alteration in the capitalistic system, supposing that one were 
desirable and possible, would still leave many problems un¬ 
solved. Any fundamental change is of dubious advantage 
and highly improbable. Therefore it is desirable to make as 
much progress under our present system as circumstances 
will permit. In this chapter we purpose to discuss two prac¬ 
tices which have proved to be of great advantage to those 
involved, profit sharing and organized cooperation. 

A. Profit Sharing 

The nature of profit sharing. — The essence of profit shar¬ 
ing is that the workmen in a given enterprise receive, in 
addition to their regular wages, a share in the profits which 
would ordinarily go entirely to the entrepreneur. The share 
going to the employees varies with the establishment, but 
generally from one quarter to three quarters of the profits 
are divided among them. 

Distribution is by various methods. The workmen may 
receive their share in cash at the end of the year. Sometimes 
the money is placed in a provident fund for the workmen as 
a body; in other cases it is deposited in savings banks to the 
account of the individual workmen. In still other cases the 
workman’s share is invested in the business for him, the work¬ 
man thereafter receiving dividends on this invested capital. 
In every case, however, the division of profits among the in¬ 
dividual laborers is on the basis of the wages received, that is 

148 


PROFIT SHARING AND COOPERATION 


149 


to say, the higher the regular wage received by a workman, 
the larger will be his share of the profits set aside for distribu¬ 
tion. Generally, too, only workmen who are steadily em¬ 
ployed are allowed to share in the distribution of profits. 

Limits of profit sharing. — Profit sharing was once con¬ 
sidered a remedy for many of our industrial troubles, but it 
is now generally conceded that the plan is decidedly limited 
in scope. Profit sharing increases the income of the workmen 
involved, but for this very reason it is often bitterly opposed 
by the trade unions. The unions fear that the plan will make 
the workmen interested chiefly in the employees of their 
particular establishment, rather than in the workmen in 
the trade as a whole. The trade unions also maintain that 
profit sharing is often administered in a patronizing manner, 
which is offensive to the self-respect of the workmen. 

To a large extent, the spread of profit sharing depends upon 
the development of altruism among employers. But unfor¬ 
tunately altruistic employers are rare, and the majority of 
entrepreneurs will not adopt the profit-sharing plan unless it 
promises to result in some distinct advantage to themselves. 
This attitude explains, in part, the failure of many profit- 
sharing experiments. Employers have sometimes tried out 
profit sharing in the hope that it would prevent strikes and 
other labor troubles. In some cases this expectation has been 
realized; in many other cases serious labor troubles have 
continued. This continuance of labor troubles has ren¬ 
dered profit sharing less attractive to certain types of em¬ 
ployers. 

In certain cases employers have experimented with profit 
sharing in the hope that it would stimulate efficiency and 
economy on the part of the workmen. Sometimes the im¬ 
mediate effect of the adoption of the plan has been to make 
the workmen more efficient and more interested in their tasks, 
but after the novelty of the scheme has worn off they have 
generally fallen back into their former pace. In justice to the 
workmen, it should be noted here that in most enterprises the 
conditions of the market and the employer’s managerial 


150 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


ability have more influence upon profits than have the per¬ 
sonal efforts of individual workmen. Where workmen realize 
this, they tend to lose faith in their ability to influence the 
share accruing to them under the profit-sharing plan. 

A last important reason why profit sharing is limited in 
scope is that in many hazardous enterprises, such as mining, 
agriculture, fishing, or building construction, the refusal and 
ability of the workmen to share in possible losses prevent the 
adoption of the plan. A mining corporation, for example, 
may make large profits one year, and lose heavily the second 
year. Profit sharing is here inadvisable, if not impossible. 
The distribution among the workmen of a large share of the 
profits accruing at the end of the first year might so deplete 
the financial reserves of the entrepreneur that he would be 
unable to meet the losses of the second year. 

B. Cooperation 

Relation of profit sharing to cooperation. — Profit sharing 
permits the workmen to secure more than a regular wage 
from a given enterprise, without, however, giving them any 
control over the management of the business. Cooperation 
goes a step farther, and attempts to dispense with either a 
number of middlemen or with the managing employer, or 
with both middlemen and employer. In the case of a profit- 
sharing scheme in which the share of the profits accruing to 
the workmen is invested in the business for them, ultimate 
control of the enterprise may come into the hands of the 
workmen through profit sharing. In such a case the plant 
might be conducted cooperatively. In practically every in¬ 
stance, however, cooperation does not grow out of profit 
sharing, but arises independently. 

Essence of cooperation. — The essence of cooperation is 
that a group of individuals undertake to perform for them¬ 
selves those functions which are commonly carried on by the 
business man. Cooperatives are often workmen, though not 
necessarily so. 


PROFIT SHARING AND COOPERATION 


151 


Under the cooperative plan, all of the profits of the enter¬ 
prise are divided among the cooperators; on the other hand, 
the risks of the business must also be borne by them. Man¬ 
agement of the enterprise is conducted partly by officers or 
committees serving without pay, and partly by paid agents. 
The general policies of the business are settled by the coop¬ 
erators acting as a body. 

Cooperation seeks to exchange the centralized control of 
the business man for the diffuse control of a group of coop¬ 
erators. This arrangement, its advocates hope, will permit 
wealth and power to be distributed among more and more 
people, and especially among those classes that possess rela¬ 
tively little property. Let us inquire briefly into the four 
types of cooperation. 

Consumers’ Cooperation. — Consumers’ cooperation, also 
known as distributive cooperation or cooperation in retail 
trade, is the most common form of cooperation. It is also 
probably the most successful form. 

In this form of cooperation, a number of individuals con¬ 
tribute their savings to a common fund, buy certain desired 
commodities at wholesale prices, and distribute these among 
themselves. Generally, the cooperative store sells to its 
members at the regular retail price, but at stated intervals 
throughout the year the profits of the business are distributed 
among the cooperatives in proportion to the amount of their 
individual purchases. Thus the difference between the whole¬ 
sale and the retail price — minus the expense of conducting 
the store — goes to the cooperators, instead of to a store¬ 
keeper or other middleman. 

One of the best examples of consumers’ cooperation is the 
Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers, established in Eng¬ 
land in 1844. This type of cooperation has also been remark¬ 
ably successful in Germany, Belgium, and other continental 
countries. The idea was taken up in the United States about 
the middle of the nineteenth century, and at the present time 
there are in this country about 2000 cooperative stores, many 
of them doing a thriving business. These stores are located 


152 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


chiefly in New England, the North Central States, and the 
West, few being found in the South. 

Cooperation in credit. — Credit cooperation may take any 
one of a number of forms. In one of the best known forms, 
a group of persons form a credit society by contributing a pro¬ 
portion of their personal savings to a common fund. On the 
strength of this capital, and of their own individual liability, 
they borrow more capital. The total amounts thus got to¬ 
gether are then loaned to the members of the society at a 
specified rate of interest. This rate of interest is higher than 
that at which the group had borrowed money from outside 
sources; nevertheless, it is lower than the rate members 
would have to pay if they individually sought loans at a 
bank. This is the aim of cooperation in credit: to enable 
persons of small means to secure loans without paying the 
high rates which as individuals they would ordinarily have 
to meet, if, indeed, they as individuals could secure loans 
under any conditions. 

Credit cooperation has been most successful in Germany, 
particularly among artisans and small farmers. It has also 
attained considerable success among the small tradesmen and 
artisans of Italy. In the United States cooperation in credit 
is less highly developed, but recently its influence has been 
slowly increasing. It has been used by postal clerks in some 
cities and by some associations of teachers who form mutual 
loan associations. 

Cooperation in marketing. — The cooperative principle has 
also been applied to the marketing of agricultural products. 
In Denmark, for example, it has been found that farmers can 
market their dairy products cooperatively, and thus save for 
themselves much of the profit that would otherwise go to 
commission agents and other middlemen. A similar saving 
has been effected in Holland, Belgium, and, to some extent, 
in France. Of recent years, cooperation in marketing has 
become important in the United States, finding particular 
favor among the farmers of the Middle and Far West. At 
the present time there are in this country more than two 


PROFIT SHARING AND COOPERATION 


153 


thousand cooperative cheese factories, and more than three 
thousand cooperative creameries. In 1931 the Federal Farm 
Board held a conference to encourage the formation of co¬ 
operative agencies for selling fruits and vegetables. The 
conference was attended by representatives of such organiza¬ 
tions in twenty-one states. Apparently the movement is 
destined to grow. 

Cooperation in production. — The three forms of coop¬ 
eration which we have been considering seek to eliminate 
unnecessary middlemen from industry. In producers’ co¬ 
operation, on the other hand, the attempt is made to get rid 
of the entrepreneur, or managing employer. A group of 
workmen get together, subscribe or borrow the required 
capital, purchase tools, materials, and plant, and set up as 
producers. They seek markets for their product, direct the 
enterprise either as a group or through salaried agents, share 
the profits among themselves, and accept the risks of the 
enterprise. 

Cooperation in production has been tried repeatedly in the 
various countries of Europe, but without success. True pro¬ 
ducers’ cooperative associations have also met with almost 
universal failure in the United States, though experiments 
have been made in a variety of industries, and in nearly every 
part of the country. Formerly the Minneapolis coopers 
were a cooperative group which seemed destined to attain a 
considerable success in production, but this group has now 
abandoned the cooperative principle. The cooperative mar¬ 
keting of fruit, cheese, and other agricultural products is, 
of course, not true producers’ cooperation, but rather the 
cooperative marketing of commodities produced by individ¬ 
ual enterprisers. 

Backwardness of cooperation in the United States. In 
all forms of cooperation, progress has been much slower in 
this country than in Europe. There are several reasons for 
this. For one thing, American workmen move about to a 
greater extent than do European workmen, whereas coopera¬ 
tion succeeds best where the cooperators have a fixed resi- 


154 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


dence and develop a strong sense of group solidarity. The 
fact that our population is made up of diverse racial types 
likewise checks the growth of the feeling of solidarity. 

An important reason for the backwardness of the coopera¬ 
tive movement in this country is that American workmen 
“make, rather than save money,” whereas cooperation re¬ 
quires thrift, and a willingness to practice small economies. 
Again, the efficiency and progressiveness of our industrial 
system render cooperative ventures less necessary in this 
country than in some parts of Europe. It is particularly true 
that retail stores in the United States are more efficient than 
similar shops in England and on the Continent. 

Altogether, the most successful cooperators in this country 
are not native-born Americans, but groups of Finns, Rus¬ 
sians, Slovaks, and other peoples of immediately foreign deri¬ 
vation. It is among these groups that the thrift and group 
solidarity demanded by cooperation are best found. 

Limits of cooperation. — Consumers’ cooperation, coop¬ 
eration in credit, and cooperation in marketing all seek to 
improve the capitalistic system by eliminating some of the 
unnecessary middlemen from our industrial life. In so far as 
this is true, these forms of cooperation are desirable develop¬ 
ments and deserve to succeed. Though the movement is 
limited by the considerations set forth in the preceding sec¬ 
tion, it is to be hoped that these three forms of cooperation 
will in the future show a considerable development in this 
country. 

Producers’ cooperation is a different affair. Rather than 
attempting to decrease the number of unnecessary middle¬ 
men, it attempts to supersede the entrepreneur or managing 
employer where he is most needed. For this reason pro¬ 
ducers’ cooperation will probably continue a failure. To 
run a modern business of any size at all requires a degree of 
intelligence, imagination, judgment, courage, and adminis¬ 
trative ability which is altogether too rarely found among 
casual groups of laborers. Varied experience, high ability, 
the determination to accept the risks of the enterprise, and a 


PROFIT SHARING AND COOPERATION 155 

consistent singleness of purpose are necessary in modern 
production. Even though cooperators are able to secure an 
amount of capital sufficient to initiate production, they rarely 
have the requisite ability or experience; too often they object 
to accepting the risks of the enterprise; practically never 
can they administer the business with that unity of control 
which characterizes the most successful business enterprises. 

Benefits of cooperation. — While no longer considered a 
far-reaching industrial reform, the cooperative movement 
brings with it many benefits. Cooperation in retail trade, 
credit, and marketing cuts down the waste between con¬ 
sumer and producer, and thus helps substantially to reduce 
the cost of living. Cooperation in production, though it 
fails to reach its chief objective, has the virtue of demon¬ 
strating to groups of workmen that the entrepreneur is of far 
more value in our industrial life than they might otherwise 
have realized. Aside from these advantages, cooperation in 
any form is an important educative force. It fosters the 
spirit of solidarity and mutual helpfulness among members 
of a group or community. It teaches thrift. It trains the 
cooperating individuals to exercise foresight and self-control. 
Altogether the training which it affords is productive of good 
citizenship. 


Activities and References 
Significant Words and Phrases 

Profit sharing, provident fund, middleman, centralized control, diffuse 
control, consumer’s cooperation, cooperative marketing, Federal Farm Board, 
risk. 


Questions 

1. Explain clearly the nature of profit sharing. 

2. What is the attitude of the trade unions toward profit sharing? 

3. What is the attitude of the employer toward profit sharing? 

4. Does profit sharing result in increased efficiency on the part of the 

workmen? Explain. 

5. What is the relation of profit sharing to cooperation? 
fi. What are the essential features of cooperation? 


156 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


7. Explain the principle involved in consumer’s cooperation. 

8. Where has this form of cooperation been most successful? 

9. What are the essential features of credit cooperation? 

10. Where is credit cooperation most successful? 

11. What is the aim of cooperation in marketing? 

12. In what way does producers’ cooperation differ from the other forms 

of cooperation? 

13. To what extent is producers’ cooperation a success? 

14. Why is cooperation backward in this country? 

15. Outline the chief benefits of cooperation. 

Problems 

1. Problem: To examine an instance of profit sharing. Method: Within 
the last few years several articles have appeared on the plan used by 
Proctor and Gamble, the makers of Ivory Soap. Consult the Reader's 
Guide for such an article to which you have access. You can also find 
several examples in Williamson, Readings in American Democracy , 
161-166. Make an oral report of your findings to the class. 

2. Problem: To study an example of cooperative marketing. Method: 
Make note of the advertisements which you can find that try to en¬ 
courage the use of oranges. Why, do you suppose, has orange juice 
become so popular? What cooperative marketing agency is behind 
many of these advertisements? 

3. Problem: To examine an example of cooperative buying. Method: 
Several years ago a group of farmers in Casey County, Kentucky, felt 
that they were paying too much for coal. They met, organized, 
bought their coal in carload lots. Tell in detail how you think each 
part of the transaction was carried out. 

References 

Encyclopedias, “Profit Sharing” and “Cooperation” 

Taussig, Principles of Economics 
Thompson, Elementary Economics 
Williamson, Introduction to Economics 
-, Readings in American Democracy 


CHAPTER XV 


PROPOSED REFORMS 

Reforms. — From time to time certain people become im¬ 
bued with the idea that they have found the solution for 
the economic ills of society. The proposed reforms vary 
from harmless nostrums to fundamental changes in our eco¬ 
nomic system. No one is justified in a sweeping condemna¬ 
tion of all proposed economic schemes, for some of them 
undoubtedly have merits. It is then proper that we examine 
some of these proposed reforms and estimate their merits. 

A. Single Tax 

Definition. — The word tax is associated with government, 
but the single tax has usually been regarded as a proposed 
economic reform. Its greatest proponent, Henry George, 
urged it as an economic panacea which would eliminate 
poverty and most of our industrial ills. Hence we shall 
consider it in this section, as a problem of economics, rather 
than of government. 

The phrase “single tax” refers to a policy under which all 
public revenue is to be raised by a single tax on land value. 
All other taxes are to be abolished. By land value is meant 
the value of the land itself, irrespective of all improvements, 
such as ditches, drains, and buildings. Everything done on 
the land to increase its value would be counted as an im¬ 
provement, and would thus be exempt from taxation. This 
would leave only location value and fertility to be taxed. 
By location value is meant that value which is due to the 
situation of the land. For example, land in a wilderness has 

157 


158 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


little or no location value, but if, later, schools, stores, rail¬ 
roads, and other elements of community life develop in that 
region, the land may take on great value because of its loca¬ 
tion in the community. The fertility value of land is that 
value which is due to natural endowment in the way of 
moisture, climate, and soil elements. 

Arguments for the single tax. — Single taxers claim that 
it is just to take from land-owners that land value which 
is not due to their individual efforts. Location value is due 
to community growth, and should therefore be taken for the 
benefit of the community at large. 

A very strong argument in favor of the single tax is that 
land cannot be hidden from the tax assessor, as can stocks, 
bonds, jewels, and other forms of personal property. A 
single tax on land would, therefore, be relatively easy to 

applv- 

A tax on the location and fertility value of land would not 
discourage industry. Location value is largely or entirely due 
to community growth, rather than to the efforts of the in¬ 
dividual land-owner. Fertility, of course, is largely a natural 
endowment, and as such cannot be destroyed by a tax. The 
land would continue to have all of its location value, and 
probably much of its fertility value, whether or not the owner 
were taxed. 

Another argument is that a single tax on land would elimi¬ 
nate taxes on live stock, buildings, and all other forms of 
property except land, and that this would encourage the 
development of the forms of property so exempted. This 
would stimulate business. 

It has also been said that the single tax would force into 
productive use land which is now being held for speculative 
purposes. It is claimed that many city tracts remain idle 
because the owners are holding them in the hope of getting 
a higher price in the future. According to the single taxer, 
a heavy tax would offset this hope of gain, and would force 
speculators either to put the land to a productive use, or to 
sell it to someone who would so employ it. 


PROPOSED REFORMS 


159 


A last important argument in favor of the single tax is that 
it might force into productive work certain capable individ¬ 
uals who are now supported in idleness by land rents. Pro¬ 
fessor Carver has pointed out that if the single tax deprived 
such persons of their incomes, they would be forced to go to 
work, and thus the community would gain by an increase in 
the number of its productive workers. 

Arguments against the single tax. — The most important 
objection to the single tax is that the confiscation of land, 
or, what amounts to the same thing, the confiscation of 
the income which land yields, is unjust. “Pieces of land,” 
Professor Seager points out, “have changed hands on the 
average dozens of times in the United States, and present 
owners have in most cases acquired them not as free gifts of 
Nature, nor as grants from the government, but by paying 
for them just as they have had to pay for other species of 
property.” Where individuals have acquired land in good 
faith, and under the protection of a government which guar¬ 
antees the institution of private property, the confiscation 
of land value would be demoralizing to the community and 
unfair to its land-owning citizens. 

Another difficulty lies in the ease with which value due to 
permanent improvements is confused with value due to loca¬ 
tion or fertility. Where money has been expended in drain¬ 
ing land, removing stones, or applying fertilizer, it is hard to 
tell, after a few years, what part of the value of the land is 
due to improvements. The possibility of this confusion would 
cause some land-owners to negle'ct to improve their land, or 
might even cause them to neglect to take steps to retain the 
original fertility. Thus the single tax might result in the 
deterioration of land values. 

It is also objected that the single tax would provide an 
inelastic taxation system. This means that it would tend to 
bring in an equal amount of revenue each year, whereas the 
revenue needs of government vary from year to year. A good' 
tax system will accommodate itself to the varying needs of 
the government, always meeting the expenses of government, 


160 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


but at the same time taking as little as possible from the 
people. 1 

It is doubtful whether the single tax would force into pro¬ 
ductive use land now being held by speculators. Even though 
a heavy tax were laid upon such land, it would not be utilized 
unless there were an immediate use to which it could profit¬ 
ably be put. 

A last important argument against the single tax is that 
there is no good reason for removing the tax burden from all 
except land-owners. Land is only one form of wealth, and it 
is unfair not to tax individuals who hold property in some 
other form. Some land value is indeed unearned, but there 
are other forms of unearned wealth, as, for example, monop¬ 
oly gains and inherited property. Taxes ought to be levied 
upon these forms of unearned wealth, as well as upon the 
unearned income from land. It is desirable, too, to levy at 
least a light tax upon the propertyless classes, in order to 
encourage them to feel an interest in, and a sense of re¬ 
sponsibility for, the conduct of their government. 

B. Socialism 

What does socialism mean? — Socialism means various 
things to various people. To some it is an economic doctrine 
of the most revolutionary type; to others it is a desirable 
reform which simply goes further in the direction we are 
already going; and to still others it is a political doctrine 
which would work havoc with our constitutional principles. 

In spite of this confusion it is possible to formulate a 
rather precise definition of socialism. Leaving until later 
the distinction between the chief socialist groups, we may 
say that the following definition covers all who are strictly 
socialists: Socialism is an economic theory which aims to 

1 Some opponents of the single tax declare that the heaviest possible 
tax on land would yield only a fraction of the revenue needed to finance 
the government. Single taxers, however, maintain that the tax would 
yield more than enough revenue to meet public expenditures. The merits 
of this argument are uncertain. 


PROPOSED REFORMS 


161 


abolish the capitalistic system, and to substitute for it “a 
system of collective ownership and democratic management 
of the socially necessary means of production and distribu¬ 
tion.” In rather more simple language, socialism intends 
that all income-producing property shall be owned and di¬ 
rected by the state. The state is to own and operate land, 
factories, workshops, railroads, and all other means of 
production. All business is to be conducted by the govern¬ 
ment, and all persons are to be employees of the govern¬ 
ment. The distribution of wealth is to be directed by the 
government. 

Socialism is often thought of in connection with the doc¬ 
trine of anarchy. Anarchism and socialism are alike in that 
both object to one man having authority over another. 
Anarchism agrees with socialism that capitalism is bad be¬ 
cause it gives the employer power over the laborer. But at 
this point the two theories begin sharply to diverge. Social¬ 
ism desires to abolish private property and to concentrate 
all authority in the hands of the state. The anarchist main¬ 
tains that this is simply a transference of authority, and 
declares that authority in any form is an evil. Thus where 
socialism seeks to enlarge the powers of the state, anarchism 
objects to the existence of any governmental authority what¬ 
soever. 

Karl Marx and his influence. — The germ of socialism 
can be traced back as far as Plato, but the modern movement 
takes its main impetus from the teachings of Karl Marx, 
a German, who lived between 1818 and 1883. Marx early 
became known for his radical views on political and economic 
subjects. In 1848, he published, in collaboration with 
Frederick Engels, the well-known Communist Manifesto. 
The Manifesto, which has been called the “birth-cry of 
modern socialism,” gives in concise form the essence of the 
socialist doctrine. In 1864 Marx helped organize the “ Inter¬ 
national,” a federation of radical thinkers, with affiliations 
in the different countries of Europe. In 1867 he published 
the first volume of his famous work, Capital , which elaborated 


162 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


the views set forth in the Manifesto* and which has since been 
adopted as the “Bible of Socialism.” Due to the great influ¬ 
ence which Marx has exerted upon socialist doctrine, he 
may justly be called the founder and inspiration of modern 
socialism. 

Theory of surplus value. — Marx claimed that practically 
all wealth has been created by the laborers alone, and that 
all persons other than laborers are parasites. He claimed that 
the value of an article is determined solely by the amount 
of labor expended upon its production. But although the 
laborer creates all wealth, the capitalist is enabled, by virtue 
of his monopolistic control over the instruments of produc¬ 
tion, to prevent this wealth from going entirely to the laborer. 
Socialism declares that the capitalist holds the laborer in vir¬ 
tual slavery, the laborer receiving only enough of the wealth 
created by him to enable him to keep alive, while the surplus 
of this wealth goes to the capitalist. The capitalist is thus a 
parasite who performs no useful task, but robs the laborers 
of the fruits of their industry. Marx did not regard profits 
as reward for business enterprise, but called them “plunder.” 
Capitalism, according to this view, is a system of theft, in¬ 
volving “misery, oppression, slavery, degradation, and ex¬ 
ploitation.” 

Socialist theory of value unsound. — Many of the defects 
of the socialist doctrine are traceable to the fact that it 
rests upon false assumptions. One of these false assumptions 
is that commodities have value in proportion as labor has 
been expended upon them. This labor theory of value has 
been discarded by every authoritative economist of modern 
times. Value depends upon scarcity and utility. The sound¬ 
ness of the scarcity-utility theory, as well as the unsoundness 
of the labor theory, may be brought out with reference to 
three classes of goods. 

First, there are commodities which have value in spite of 
the fact that no labor has been expended upon them. Virgin 
land, the gift of Nature, is the most important example. 
Articles of this class have value because they satisfy men’s 


PROPOSED REFORMS 163 

wants, i.e. y have utility, and because they are scarce. Labor 
has nothing to do with their original value. 

Second, there are commodities which have no value, even 
though much labor has been expended upon them. A build¬ 
ing erected in a desert or in a wilderness is an example. Un¬ 
wanted books, or paintings by unknown artists are other 
examples. Commodities in this class may represent a great 
expenditure of labor, and still have no value, first because 
they do not satisfy anyone’s wants, and second because they 
are not scarce, i.e.y there are not fewer of them than are 
wanted. 

Third, articles may have a value which is out of proportion 
to the amount of labor expended upon them. The value of 
diamonds, old coins, and rare paintings is disproportionate 
to the actual amount of labor involved in their production. 
A sudden change in fashion may cause the value of clothing 
and other commodities to rise or fall, with little or no regard 
for the amount of labor expended upon them. In each case 
it is not labor that determines value, but scarcity and 
utility. 

Class struggle. — Marx declared that the capitalistic sys¬ 
tem was doomed to destruction. He maintained that as 
time went on, wealth would tend to concentrate more and 
more in the hands of the capitalist or employing class. Trusts 
and monopolies would become more common, and gradually 
capitalism would become so unwieldy and so unworkable a 
mechanism that it would finally fall to pieces of its own 
weight. Crises, panics, and trade depressions were supposed 
to be indications of this inevitable disaster. 

The tendency for wealth to concentrate in the hands of a 
few was to be accompanied by the growing poverty of the 
masses. Marx believed that the middle classes would even¬ 
tually disappear, leaving only the wealthy employers and the 
miserable laborers. The individuals comprising these two 
classes would steadily draw apart into two great armies 
which were destined to battle to the death. Socialism denies 
that employers and laborers have anything in common, and 


164 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


insists that between these two groups a struggle must go on 
until the employing class is abolished. 

Theory of class struggle unwarranted. — The theory of 
class struggle is based upon the claim that the laborer pro¬ 
duces all wealth. But we have seen this claim to be un¬ 
founded; therefore the theory of class struggle is built upon 
an error. Ultimately, the theory of class struggle tends to 
injure the very class which seeks to gain by advocating it, 
for true and permanent prosperity for the laboring class (as 
well as for all other classes) can result only when all of the 
factors of production work together harmoniously. Funda¬ 
mentally the quarrel between capital and labor 1 is as suicidal 
as though the arms of a human body refused to cooperate 
with the other members. There are, indeed, many antago¬ 
nisms between capital and labor, but socialism seeks to fo¬ 
ment, rather than to eliminate them. Socialism preaches 
social solidarity and prosperity for all, but by inciting the 
class struggle it makes for class hatred and a disharmony 
between capital and labor which decreases prosperity and 
threatens economic ruin. 

Defects of socialism outweigh its merits. — It is only after 
the advantages of a system or an institution have been 
carefully weighed against its disadvantages that its value 
appears. A socialist system would have some obvious merits. 
It might eliminate unemployment, since everyone would be 
an employee of the state, and, as such, would be guaranteed 
against discharge. Charitable aid would probably be ex¬ 
tended to many people now left to their own resources. 

But certainly socialism could not cure ills which are due 
either to natural causes, or to the infirmities of human nature. 
The abolition of private initiative and of private property 
would strike at the root of progress. Socialism would also 
probably give rise to a series of new problems, such as the 
evils arising out of a bureaucratic form of government. As 

1 The phrase “capital and labor” is loose and inaccurate, but is in 
common use. Used in this sense the word “capital” refers to the capitalist 
and employing classes, while the word “labor” refers to the workers. 


PROPOSED REFORMS 


165 


its program now stands, it is probably fair to say that the 
defects of socialism greatly outweigh its merits. 

C. Bolshevism 1 

Definition. — Bolshevism is a term applied to the present 
Russian system of economics and government. It is an ex¬ 
treme form of socialism which advocates the abolition of 
private property and the absolute supremacy of the govern¬ 
ment. It had its origin in militant socialism and is closely 
akin to, in fact, sometimes called, communism. Bolshevism 
is important because it has become the system of a populous 
country and may be destined to affect profoundly the ideas 
of other peoples. 

Origin of the bolshevists. — The origin of the bolshevists 
dates from a convention of the Russian Social-Democratic 
party in 1903, at which time a majority took an extreme 
stand upon the policies then being discussed in convention. 
In the years that followed the bolshevists became known as 
the radical or extreme wing of the Russian Social-Democratic 
party, as opposed to the menshevists, or moderate wing. 

It appears that as early as 1905 the bolshevists planned to 
secure control of the Russian government. The opportunity 
presented itself during the World War. In March, 1917, a 
non-bolshevist group initiated a revolution, which overthrew 
the government of the Czar and established a provisional 
government under the leadership of Alexander Kerensky. 
This government immediately instituted a number of demo¬ 
cratic reforms, including the extension of the suffrage to all 
men and women who were Russian citizens. These citizens 
elected delegates to a constituent assembly, but at this point 
the bolshevists, seeing that the voters of Russia were over¬ 
whelmingly against bolshevism, attacked the new govern¬ 
ment. The constituent assembly was forcibly dissolved, its 

1 The terms militant socialism, communism, bolshevism, and syndi¬ 
calism as used in the United States are practically synonymous, but we 
shall attempt to draw distinctions among some of them. 


166 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


defenders slaughtered, and on November 7, 1917, the bol- 
shevists seized the reins of government. Thus bolshevism as 
a government came into being as the result of suppressing 
the lawfully expressed will of the Russian people. 

The bolshevist constitution: liberal elements. — In 1918 
the bolshevists adopted the name Russian Socialist Federated 
Soviet Republic and shortly afterwards formed a union with 
similar republics in Ukrainia and the Caucasus. The official 
name of the whole group is Union of Socialist Soviet Repub¬ 
lics, popularly known as the U. S. S. R. On July 10, 1918, 
the bolshevists adopted a constitution. This remarkable 
document is a strange compound of liberal and despotic 
elements. 

The church was separated from the state, and complete 
freedom of conscience was accorded all citizens of Russia. 
Citizens were to enjoy complete freedom of speech and of the 
press. For the purpose of “securing freedom of expression 
to the toiling masses,” provision was made for the free circu¬ 
lation throughout the country of newspapers, books, and 
pamphlets. Full and general education to the poorest peas¬ 
antry was also promised. Capital punishment was declared 
abolished, and a solemn protest against war and violence of 
every kind was adopted. 

The bolshevist constitution: restricted suffrage. — These 
liberal provisions were offset, however, by a number of im¬ 
portant restrictions upon the voting rights of the people. 
Article IV of the bolshevist constitution declared that the 
right to vote should not be extended to the following groups: 
all persons employing hired laborers for profit, including 
farmers who have even a single part-time helper; all persons 
receiving incomes from interest, rent, or profits; all persons 
engaged in private trade, even to the smallest shopkeeper; 
all ministers of religion of any kind; all persons engaged in 
work which was not specifically defined by the proper au¬ 
thorities as “productive and useful to society”; members of 
the old royal family; and individuals formerly employed in 
the imperial police service. The constitution further pro- 


PROPOSED REFORMS 


167 


vided that representation in the various deliberative assem¬ 
blies (called soviets, or councils) should be arranged so that 
one urban bolshevist would be equal, in voting strength, to 
five non-bolshevist peasants. Lastly, the constitution signifi¬ 
cantly neglected to provide any machinery whereby the 
voters, either as individuals or in groups, could make nomina¬ 
tions for any governmental office. The power of nomination 
was assumed by various bolshevist officials. 

The bolshevist constitution: provision for a despotism. — 
The bolshevist constitution frankly provided for a despotism. 
“For the purpose of securing the working class in the posses¬ 
sion of complete power,” reads the concluding section of 
chapter two of the constitution, “and in order to eliminate 
all possibility of restoring the power of the exploiters (the 
capitalist or employing class), it is decreed that all workers 
be armed, and that a socialist Red Army be organized and the 
propertied class disarmed.” These steps, the constitution 
goes on to state, were to be taken for the express purpose of 
introducing nation-wide socialism into Russia. 

“Dictatorship of the proletariat.” — Shortly after the pub¬ 
lication of the constitution, Lenin and Trotzky, the two 
bolshevist leaders, established what was called the “dictator¬ 
ship of the proletariat.” The word proletariat refers to the 
working classes, but the bolshevists interpreted the term to 
cover only that portion of the workers which was pledged to 
the support of socialist doctrine. Lenin admitted that a 
small number of bolshevized workingmen, the proletariat, 
was maintaining, by force of arms, a despotic control over 
the masses of the people. “Just as 150,000 lordly land- 
owners under Czarism dominated the 130,000,000 of Russian 
peasants,” he once declared, “so 200,000 members of the bol¬ 
shevist party are imposing their will on the masses.” Accord¬ 
ing to these figures, the controlling element in Russia included 
less than one-sixth of one per cent of the people. 

From the first, the great majority of the peasants stolidly 
resisted the socialization of the country, but this did not dis¬ 
courage the bolshevist leaders. “We have never spoken of 


168 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


liberty,” said Lenin early in 1921. “We are exercising the 
dictatorship of the proletariat in the name of the minority 
because the peasant class in Russia is not yet with us. We 
shall continue to exercise it until they submit. I estimate the 
dictatorship will last about forty years.” 

Suppression of democracy. — The democratic tendencies 
evidenced under the Kerensky regime, and apparently en¬ 
couraged by some of the provisions of the bolshevist con¬ 
stitution, were quickly checked by the dictatorship. It be¬ 
came the policy of the government to deprive “all individuals 
and groups of rights which could be utilized by them to the 
detriment of the socialist revolution.” The semblance of a 
representative system was retained, but voting power was so 
distributed as to allow an oligarchic group to control the 
government’s policies. This group had the power to disallow 
elections which went against it, as well as the power to force 
the dismissal from local soviets of anti-bolshevist members. 
The right to vote could be arbitrarily withdrawn by order of 
the central authorities. Free speech and the right to enjoy 
a free press were suppressed. Lenin admitted that bolshe¬ 
vism “does not represent the toiling masses,” and declared 
that the “the word democracy cannot be scientifically ap¬ 
plied to the bolshevist party.” Both Lenin and Trotzky 
declared that they had no fixed policy except to do whatever 
at the moment seemed expedient, regardless of previous state¬ 
ments or promises. 

Abolition of the capitalistic system. — Socialism, so long 
a theory, became a practical concern at the moment that 
the bolshevists secured control of the government. Private 
property in land was abolished, the arable land of Russia 
being apportioned among agriculturists without compensa¬ 
tion to the former owners. All mines, forests, and waterways 
of national importance were taken over by the central gov¬ 
ernment, while the smaller woods, rivers, and lakes became 
the property of the local soviets. Banking establishments 
were seized and looted by bolshevist forces. Factories, rail¬ 
roads, and other means of production and transport were 


PROPOSED REFORMS 


169 


taken over. Inheritance was abolished. Private initiative 
in business was forbidden. Members of the capitalist or 
employing classes were imprisoned, murdered, or driven from 
the country. In a word, the capitalistic system was de¬ 
stroyed, and the economic and political machinery of the 
country came under the full control of a small socialist group, 
maintained in power by armed force. 

Temporary paralysis of industry. — The substitution of 
socialism for capitalism in Russia was followed by disaster. 
The workers were unable to carry on the industries which 
had been handed over to them. Discouraged by repeated 
errors in administration, and demoralized by their sudden 
rise to power, they neglected their work and pillaged the 
factories and shops in which they had formerly been em¬ 
ployed. The elimination of the managing employers resulted 
in a decreased output, and to aggravate the situation the 
laborers continued to insist upon a shorter and shorter work¬ 
ing day. In desperation the government attempted to keep 
the people at their tasks by force. The trade unions were 
abolished, and the workers were forbidden to strike, on pain 
of imprisonment or death. Yet despite these measures the 
output of factories, mills, and mines steadily decreased. In¬ 
dustry stagnated, and business fell away. The millions of 
Russia were starving in a land of plenty. 

The workers, assured that the government would provide 
for them, refused to work, and the peasants objected to 
turning their grain over to the government. They refused 
to raise more than was necessary for their own use. In 1921 
production fell below the pre-war days. 

Recent developments. — Lenin realized the situation and 
announced the New Economic Policy of a partial return to 
capitalism. Nationalization of land was halted, and the 
peasants were allowed to sell their grain. Small industries 
were returned to private ownership and operation. In 1924 
the ruble was stabilized and foreign trade was increased. In 
1928 the U. S. S. R. embarked upon its famous Five Year 
Plan, which involved the expenditure of enormous sums upon 


170 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


industry. Foreign managers and specialists were imported 
by the hundreds, Russian workers increased their efficiency 
enormously, and Russia is being rapidly industrialized. 

It would be erroneous, however, to say that Russia re¬ 
turned to capitalism. As soon as a few of the peasants 
began to grow rich, the government set out to destroy their 
wealth by increased taxes and by large scale farming meth¬ 
ods which involved the merging of small farms. This policy 
has been carried forward until probably sixty per cent of the 
farms were, in 1931, under the direction of the government. 

Future of bolshevism. — Organized religion has almost 
ceased to exist in Russia. In one church in Moscow is a 
placard saying, “Religion is the opiate of the people.” Real¬ 
izing that the church was a strong supporter of capitalism, 
Lenin became its bitterest enemy. Russian schools are or¬ 
ganized to teach practical topics and to teach children the 
evils of private property. Schools, then, are frankly the 
tools of the government. 

Bolshevism has become not only an economic and political 
policy, but it has for the Russian become almost a religion. 
Sacred pictures have been replaced by portraits of Lenin. 
The bolshevist leaders are determined to effect a complete 
revolution in society and philosophy. Will they succeed? 
You can find the answer only by keeping abreast of events. 

D. Other Reforms 

Communism. — Communism in its usual sense is socialism 
applied to a relatively small area. In origin the word is 
associated with community. In a communistic community 
all property is publicly owned and each labors not for his 
own good but for the common or communal good. History 
furnishes us some information about such experiments. It 
appears that the early Christians practiced communism, and 
from time to time religious fanatics and economic dreamers 
have advocated its adoption. In America we can find ex¬ 
amples in the early days of Jamestown and in Robert Owen’s 


PROPOSED REFORMS 


171 


settlement of New Harmony, Indiana. The Russian experi¬ 
ment which we have just examined is the only one ever 
tried on a large scale. Until some other motivating force 
than a desire to serve the public is found, communism will 
probably not be taken very seriously. 

I. W. W. — The Industrial Workers of the World (I. 
W. W.) was organized in Chicago in 1903. Led by William 
D. Haywood, its members took a militant attitude toward 
capitalists and emphasized “the class struggle.” Their chief 
weapons were the strike and sabotage, the deliberate injury 
of machinery or the destruction of property for the sake of 
injuring capitalism. They advocated the supremacy of the 
workers and the abolition of the wage system. The I. W. W. 
fomented several strikes during the Great War, but the 
deportation of their leader to Russia apparently dealt them 
a blow from which they have not recovered. Their numbers 
were never large, and their extreme doctrines have repelled 
most people. 


Activities and References 
Significant Words and Phrases 

Single tax, tax assessor, productive use, “improvements ” on land, specula¬ 
tion, confiscation, inelastic tax system, socialism, anarchism, Karl Marx, 
Frederick Engels, Communist Manifesto, surplus value, utility, trust, panic, 
social solidarity, “ capital and labor,” militant socialism, bolshevism, syn¬ 
dicalism, U. S. S. R., soviets or councils, despotism, Lenin, proletariat, oligar¬ 
chy, Five Year Plan, communism, Robert Owen, I. W. W., sabotage. 

Questions 


1. Define single tax. 

2. What is location value? Give an example in your town. 

3. Define fertility value. 

4. What is unearned increment? 

5. Who was Henry George? 

6. State six arguments in favor of the single tax. 

7. State the arguments against the single tax. 

8. Define socialism. 

9. What is the difference between anarchism and socialism? 


172 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


10. Who was Karl Marx and what has been his influence upon socialism? 

11. What is the basic theory of Marx and of his followers as to what gives 

value to a commodity? 

12. Why did Marx call the capitalist a parasite? 

13. Give three examples to show the fallacy of the Marxian theory of 

value. 

14. What is meant by the class struggle? 

15. On what error does the theory of class struggle rest? 

16. Give a summary of the advantages and the disadvantages of socialism. 

Which are greater? 

17. What was the attitude of Marx toward violence? 

18. What is the difference between political and militant socialism? 

19. Name the two chief groups of militant socialists. 

20. Define bolshevism. 

21. What is the relation between communism and bolshevism? 

22. What is the history of the origin of bolshevism? 

23. Name two leaders of the Russian bolshevists. 

24. What has been the attitude of the U. S. S. R. toward capitalism? 

Why? Illustrate concretely and as fully as possible. 

25. What is the Five Year Plan? When was it inaugurated? 

26. What is the attitude of the U. S. S. R. toward religion? Why? 

27. Explain “Dictatorship of the Proletariat” as applied to Russia. 

28. What element in human nature has prevented communism from being 

widely tried out? 

29. Who are the I. W. W.? 

30. How did the I. W. W. propose to reform economic ills, and what 

weapons did they use? How influential were they? 

Problems 

1. Problem: To understand the principle of the single tax. Method: 
Consider the busiest corner in your town and the vacant lot nearest 
to the busy corner. Does the fertility of the lots affect their respective 
values? Which owner pays more taxes? Why is the vacant lot un¬ 
occupied? Has the busy corner raised the value of the vacant lot? 
Does the owner of it deserve this increased value? If a heavy tax were 
placed upon it, would the owner put it to some use? Is the owner 
holding it for speculative purposes or merely because there is no 
demand for it? 

2. Problem: To survey the history of the Socialist Party in the United 
States. Method: Write a report on Eugene Debs and secure, if pos¬ 
sible, the latest Socialist platform. Does the platform seem to you 
impracticable? 

3. Problem: To learn from the sources what the various proposals for 
reform are. Method: Prepare reports on the Socialist Theory of 


PROPOSED REFORMS 


173 


Value, the Class Struggle, and the I. W. W. Secure your material 
from authoritative statements. (Such statements may be found in 
Chapters XIII, XIV, XV, and XVI of Williamson’s Readings in 
American Democracy.) 

4. Problem: To learn about the Five Year Plan. Method: Consult the 
latest World Almanac and report your findings to the class. How does 
the plan affect other nations? 

5. Problem: To see how an early example of communism was carried out. 
Method: Read, in the New Testament, the Book of Acts, Chapter IV, 
34-37, and Chapter V, 1-11,;which tell the story of a man and his wife 
who held back some property. 

6. Problem: The success of the Russian scheme. Method: A debate: 
Resolved, that the Russian government is proceeding on sound 
principles. 


References. 

Arnold, Problems in American Life 
Ely, Outlines of Economics 
Shideler, Group Life and Social Problems 
Thompson, Elementary Economics 
Williamson, Readings in American Democracy 


* 







PART III 


AMERICAN SOCIAL PROBLEMS 


Everyone faces the problem of getting along with 
people. In our earliest years we become aware of 
such relations within the family. We realize that 
we must learn the art of giving and taking, of ad¬ 
justing our desires and preferences to those of the 
other members of the family. In school we have a 
larger family with whose members we must adjust 
ourselves. The problem continues into adult life, 
and it is no exaggeration to say that one’s success 
in life is determined by his ability to get along with 
people. The problem becomes more difficult as 
one moves into larger and larger groups. Wherever 
the problem occurs it is one of “social relationships,” 
because it involves two or more people getting along 
together as members of a group. In this part of the 
book we shall consider some of the social institu¬ 
tions which have been formed to facilitate social life, 
and we shall face some of the problems involved in 
living together. 


CHAPTER XVI 


POPULATION 

Malthus. — From time to time various individuals have 
speculated on the eventual result of a limited land supply 
and an ever-increasing propulation. Among these students 
of population problems none has attained greater fame than 
Thomas R. Malthus, an Englishman, who published his 
famous theory in 1798. He declared that population tends to 
increase faster than the means of subsistence. The food supply 
can be increased again and again, but while this is being 
done, the population will be doubled. For example, while 
the production of wheat can be constantly increased as 
represented by the series 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, etc., popula¬ 
tion will be increasing according to the series 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 
32, 64, 256, etc. Thus it is obvious that the food supply will 
fall constantly further and further behind the population. 

Malthus, however, did not say that such a series of de¬ 
velopments would take place. He said that they would take 
place unless the growth in population was checked. The 
increase can be checked by (1) positive methods, such as 
famine, war, disease, vice, and poverty and (2) by negative 
methods such as the control of the birth rate. 

Malthus’s doctrine has so far been inapplicable. During 
the nineteenth century the population of the world increased 
over one hundred per cent, but the food supply increased 
still faster. Nevertheless, the doctrine seems plausible, and 
it is conceivable that resources will some day be exhausted 
and that population will of necessity decrease. So the theory 
serves as a warning to conserve resources and regulate the 
growth of population. 


177 


178 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


Population of the United States. — The first census of 
1790 shows that our population was at that time 3,929,214. 
The following table shows the recent increases. 


75,994,575 

91,972,266 

105,710,620 

122,775,046 


1900 

1910 

1920 

1930 


The center of population shifted westward in 140 years from 
a point twenty-three miles east of Baltimore to Greene 
County, Indiana, in 1930. 

A rather surprising change in our population is the de¬ 
crease in the number of children under five years of age. 
The number in that group grew constantly until 1920, when 
it numbered 11,573,230, but in 1930 it had decreased to 
11,444,390. While this decrease is not great, it is, neverthe¬ 
less, highly significant. It seems to indicate that our in¬ 
crease in population will not continue. All other age groups 
show an increase in numbers, the most significant being the 
greater number of people over sixty-five years of age. In 
1920 this group numbered 4,933,215, while in 1930 it reached 
6,633,805. 

Rate of increase and causes. — The population of the 
United States has grown faster than that of the European 
countries. From 1900 to 1910 the increase was 21 per cent; 
from 1910 to 1920, 14.9 per cent; and from 1920 to 1930, 
16.1 per cent. 

The rate of increase during the last ten years varies in 
different parts of the country. California grew from 3,426,- 
861 to 5,677,251, an increase of 65 per cent. Florida shows 
an increase of 51.6 per cent and Michigan 32 per cent. 
Montana shows a loss of 2 per cent, and Georgia gained only 
.4 per cent. The Pacific Coast with 47.2 per cent shows the 
greatest increase of any section. 

This increase has been due to several factors. Large num¬ 
bers of immigrants have entered the country. The birth 
rate, although constantly decreasing, remains fairly high. 


POPULATION 


179 


In 1915 there were 25 births for every one thousand people, 
while in 1930 there were only 19 births. The death rate 
of 14 per thousand in 1915, however, declined to 11.3 by 
1930. This decreased death rate is due to increased medical 
knowledge, improved sanitation, and the lessening of in¬ 
dustrial accidents. 

Racial elements. — The following table shows the prin¬ 
cipal racial elements with the numbers of each according to 
the 1930 census. 

Negro. 11,891,143 

Mexican. 1,422,533 

Indian. 332,397 

Japanese. 138,834 

Chinese. 74,954 

Exclusive of those listed above in 1930 there were 13,366,- 
407 foreign-born whites in the United States. The numbers 
from the principal countries are shown in the following table. 


Italy. 

. . . 1,790,422 

Germany. 

... 1,608,814 

Great Britain. 

. . . 1,402,032 

Canada. 

. . . 1,278,421 

Poland. 

. . . 1,268,583 

Russia. 

. . . 1,153,624 

Irish Free State. 

744,810 

Sweden. 

595,250 

Czechoslovakia. 

491,638 

Austria. 

370,914 

Norway. 

347,852 

Hungary. 

274,450 

Lithuania. 

193,606 

Denmark. 

179,474 

Greece . 

174,528 


The population of both New England and the Middle 
Atlantic states is more than 25 per cent foreign-born, while 
several Southern states have less than one per cent. The 
foreign-born tend to settle in certain areas. Nearly 50 per 






















180 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


cent of the Austrians, Italians, and Russians, and 40 per 
cent of the Hungarians live in New York and Pennsylvania. 
The foreign-born also congregate in cities. The percentage 
of foreign-born in several cities is shown in the following list. 

Per cent 


New York. 33 

Boston. 29 

Fall River. 28 

Newark. 26 

Lowell. 26 

Chicago. 25 

Detroit. 25 

San Francisco. 24 


Distribution of population. — It is a well known fact that 
a favorable area supports a larger population than an un¬ 
favorable one. In 1930 there were 41.3 persons per square 
mile. The number per square mile is called the density of 
population. Rhode Island with 644 has the greatest density 
of any state, followed closely by 538 in New Jersey and 529 
in Massachusetts. Nevada with a density of .8 is the most 
sparsely settled state, while Wyoming with 2.3 and Montana 
with 3.7 are not far ahead. 

Another way of visualizing these facts is to say that if the 
area of the United States had been equally divided in 1920 
each person would have owned 18 acres. If Rhode Island, 
New Jersey, Massachusetts, Nevada, Wyoming, and Mon¬ 
tana had been divided among their inhabitants each would 
have had respectively 1.1, 1.5, 1.3, 908, 321, and 170 acres. 
The density of population in France, Belgium, Great Britain, 
and Holland exceeds that of the United States. 

One of the remarkable aspects of our population growth 
and distribution is the increase in the size of our cities. In 
1930 there were 93 cities of over 100,000 population; 283 
between 25,000 and 100,000; 606 between 10,000 and 25,000; 
851 between 5,000 and 10,000; and 1,332 between 2,500 and 
5,000. Altogether these cities contain 56.2 per cent of the 










POPULATION 


181 


population of the United States. They grew remarkably 
during the past decade. Many Southern cities of consider¬ 
able size show gains of over 100 per cent, and nearly all of 
the larger cities show substantial gains. 

Altitude, rainfall, and temperature affect the distribution 
of population. Extremely high or dry areas are likely to be 
sparsely populated. The rainfall of the more prosperous 
farming areas averages about 40 inches a year, and these 
areas contain a dense population. The regions which have 
a mean annual temperature of about 50 degrees are most 
stimulating and consequently contain large numbers of peo¬ 
ple. Physical and commercial maps of the United States 
show that favorable climatic conditions coincide with densely 
populated areas. 

The ratio of males to females is 102.5 to 100, i.e., for every 
hundred females there are 102.5 males. In 1920 the ratio 
was 104 to 100. Thus females have increased faster than 
males during the past ten years. About sixty per cent of our 
population is of voting age. In 1930 there were 29,980,146 
families averaging 4.1 members each. 

Activities and References 
Significant Words and Phrases 

Birth rate, death rate, foreign born, density of population, urban, rural, 
Malthusian theory, theory. 

Questions 

1. Who was Malthus? 

2. What was Malthus’s theory of population? 

3. What checks on population did he name? 

4. How has Malthus’s theory worked out in practice? Why? What 

warning does it contain? 

5 What was the population of the United States in 1790? In 1930? 

6. Where is the present center of population in the United States? 

7. What are the indications as to the rate at which our population is 

likely to increase in the future? 

8. What sections of our country show the greatest increase in population 

since 1920? 


182 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


9. What are the two explanations for the rapid increase in population in 

the United States? 

10. Is our birth rate rising or falling? Is this desirable? 

11. Is our-death rate rising or falling? Why? 

12. Why are there so few Indians, Japanese, and Chinese in the United 

States compared to the number of Mexicans? 

13. From what country or countries did your ancestors come? When? 

14. How are the children and grandchildren of immigrants to the United 

States listed in the United States census? Are they included in the 

figures given in your text? 

15. In general, what is the geographical distribution of the foreign born 

in the United States? Why? 

16. What is meant by density of population? 

17. What is the density of population in the United States? How does 

this compare with that of certain European countries? 

18. What is the population of your city? How many cities of this size 

are there in the United States? 

19. How many cities are there in the United States of over 100,000 

population? 

20. What percentage of the population of the United States is rural? 

21. What climatic conditions affect the distribution of population? What 

climatic conditions prevail in the most densely settled areas of the 

United States? 

22. What is the ratio of females to males in the United States? In 

England? 

23. What percentage of our population is 21 years old or over? 

24. What is the size of the average family in the United States today? 

Is this increasing or decreasing? 

Problems 

1. Problem: To show the efforts being made to lower the death rate of 
the United States. Method: From your own knowledge, from study¬ 
ing the card catalogue at the public library, from running through the 
current magazines and newspapers, compile a list of agencies interested 
in health education and preventive medical work, and of the means 
used by each. Note how much of this work is being done without 
direct financial reimbursement. Why? What is the popular response 
to all these efforts? Give concrete illustrations. 

2. Problem: To appreciate the significance of automobile accidents in 
increasing death rates. Method: From the newspapers or magazines 
obtain information as to the number of automobile fatalities during 
each of the last five years. What methods are the cities using to cut 
down the number? What method does Ohio use to encourage cautious 


POPULATION 183 

driving? Why is this problem of constantly increasing significance? 
What rules do you follow to insure your own safety? 

3. Problem: To appreciate the contribution of foreigners to the United 
States. Method: Select a racial group and show how it has contributed 
to the United States in (1) industry, (2) farming, (3) wars, (4) politics, 
and (5) prominent leaders. This may be done in the form of a booklet 
with drawings, pictures, and historical references. 

4. Problem: To appreciate the effect of climatic conditions upon the 
density of population. Method: Study the climatic conditions of 
Pennsylvania or Wisconsin and contrast the state selected with New 
Mexico or some sparsely settled state. Account for the differences in 
population. 


References 

Dow, Social Problems of Today 
Eldridge and Clark, Major Problems of Democracy 
Statistical Abstract of the Census. Printed annually by the Government 
Printing Office, Washington 
Towne, Social Problems 


i 


CHAPTER XVII 


THE FAMILY 

Significance of the family. — From whatever angle we ap¬ 
proach society, the family is the ultimate unit and basis. 
The whole fabric of civilization, whether considered from an 
economic, a social, or a political standpoint, depends upon 
the integrity of the family, and upon the wholesomeness of 
the home life centering about the father, mother, and chil¬ 
dren. The home is the nursery of our fundamental institu¬ 
tions: it is the origin of our physical and mental inheritance; 
it is the center of our training for private and public life; 
it is the moral and religious fount which nourishes the ideals 
and beliefs which fashion our lives and mould our character. 
A nation built upon decaying homes is bound to perish; 
a nation composed of normal prosperous families is in a good 
way to perpetuate itself. It is of the very greatest im¬ 
portance, therefore, that we inquire into the character and 
tendencies of the American family. 

The family in the Middle Ages. — Fully to appreciate 
the nature of the modern family we must know something 
of the family as it existed in Europe in the Middle Ages. 

Unity was the striking characteristic of the medieval fam¬ 
ily. Economically it was very nearly self-sufficing, that is 
to say, most of the food, clothing, and other necessaries 
consumed by it were prepared by the family members. Very 
little in the way of education and recreation existed beyond 
the family circle. In religious activities the family played 
an important role, family worship under the leadership of 
the father being a common domestic function. The medieval 
family was stable, partly because legal and religious authority 
was concentrated in the hands of the father, partly because 

184 


THE FAMILY 


185 


the family members were economically interdependent, and 
partly because the social and religious interests of the family 
members tended to coincide. Divorce was uncommon, and 
the children generally remained in the home until their ma¬ 
jority had been attained. 

The family in modem times. — We have already seen that 
since the close of the Middle Ages, and especially during 
the last two centuries, important economic, social, and po¬ 
litical changes have been going on in civilized society. In 
common with other social institutions, the family has been 
greatly influenced by these changes. The family which we 
have described as the medieval type has been either destroyed 
or greatly modified, and a new type is being developed. 
Probably this new type of family will present substantial 
gains over the family of the Middle Ages, nevertheless the 
period of transition is fraught with danger. A great problem 
of American democracy is to aid in the social readjustment 
of the family. In order that we may be competent to aid 
in this readjustment, let us discover in what ways the family 
has been modified by the economic, social, and political 
changes referred to above. 

The Industrial Revolution and the family. — We have 
examined somewhat in detail the effect of the Industrial 
Revolution upon our economic life; it remains to be pointed 
out that the same phenomenon has profoundly affected the 
character of our most vital s ocial institution, the family. 

Directly or indirectly, the Industrial Revolution has af¬ 
fected family life among all classes of the population. To 
some extent capitalism has given rise to a class of idle rich, 
living upon the proceeds of permanent investments, and re¬ 
sorting to extravagance and loose methods of living in order 
to occupy their time. This development is doubly unfortu¬ 
nate. In the first place it renders difficult the maintenance 
of normal homes among the idle rich. In the second place, 
the tendency of certain types of individuals to imitate and 
envy the idle rich encourages false standards and leads to a 
depraved moral sense. 



186 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


To those classes which furnish the majority of our pro¬ 
fessional men, the complex division of labor has brought a 
serious danger. So great is the need of specialized training 
among these groups that marriage is often delayed until after 
the age of thirty. The individual is then in a better position 
to support a family, but often his habits are so firmly fixed 
that he finds it difficult to adapt himself to family life. 

Even more important, perhaps, have been the effects of 
the Industrial Revolution upon the masses of wage earners. 
Men earning low wages are often unable to marry, or, if they 
assume that responsibility, they are unable properly to sup¬ 
port their families. In spite of the fact that capitalism has 
greatly increased our material welfare, the dependence of 
large numbers of people upon day wages increases the haz¬ 
ards of family life. Industrial accidents, occupational dis¬ 
eases, or the interruption of earnings by strikes and unem¬ 
ployment, — any one of these mishaps may work a hardship 
upon the wage earner’s family. Poverty may induce child 
labor, deprive the family of proper food and other neces¬ 
saries, and retard the education of the children. Finally 
it may so emphasize the elements of strain and worry that 
parents are unable to give proper attention to the training 
of their children. 

The factory system and the home. — The Industrial Revo¬ 
lution has lessened the economic importance of the home. 
The typical modern family is no longer self-sufficing, but is 
dependent upon the factory system for many commodities 
formerly prepared within the home circle. Spinning, weav¬ 
ing, tailoring, shoe-making, soap-making, and other indus¬ 
tries have moved out of the home and into the factory. 
Even the preparation of food is increasingly a function of 
agencies outside the home. Especially in cities there has 
been a steady development of restaurants, delicatessen shops, 
and factories engaged in the large-scale preparation of bread, 
canned soups, and other food products. 

There is thus less work to be done in the home than 
formerly; at the same time the development of our industrial 


THE FAMILY 


187 


life has notably increased the amount of work to be done 
outside the home. The outcome of these two complementary 
forces has been that not only the father, but often the 
mother and the half-grown children as well, have been drawn 
into industry. As the result of this development, the eco¬ 
nomic interdependence of the family has been destroyed, 
and the way has been opened to the disintegration of the 
home. Social contacts between family members have de¬ 
creased, while the specialized character of the individual's 
daily work has operated to break down the common interests 
which family members formerly had outside the home. 

Lack of preparation for home-making. — The factory sys¬ 
tem has rendered more difficult the preparation of our boys 
and girls for home-making. Where boys go out to work at 
an early age and are deprived of home training during the 
adolescent period, neither father nor mother has the oppor¬ 
tunity properly to acquaint them with the nature and re¬ 
sponsibilities of home-making. Girls very often are reared 
without adequate knowledge of cooking, sewing, and other 
household arts. This is due, partly to the transfer of many 
of the domestic functions to specialists beyond the home, 
and partly to the fact that where girls go into industry they 
spend most of their time outside the home. In the case of 
both boys and girls, the decreased amount of time spent 
in the home not only prevents proper training by the parents, 
but it stresses outside interests which are too often opposed 
to domestic ideals. Many parents either allow or encourage 
their children to acquire frivolous habits. As the result 
of all of these factors, both young men and young women 
frequently marry without having been properly prepared 
for the responsibilities of home-making. 

Difficulties of home-making in crowded cities. — With the 
development of manufacturing, a larger and larger propor¬ 
tion of our people have made their homes in large cities. To 
many, city life has brought increased opportunities for educa¬ 
tion and recreation, nevertheless it is difficult to maintain a 
normal home life in a crowded city. Urban life is highly 


188 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


artificial. Simple and wholesome amusements are less com¬ 
mon than expensive and injurious forms of recreation. The 
noise and jar of city life often result in strain and jaded 
nerves. The scarcity and high cost of house room is, for 
many city dwellers, an unavoidable evil. The poor are 
cramped into small, uncomfortable tenements, while even 
the well-to-do are frequently found in congested apartment 
houses. Under such circumstances, the home often becomes 
merely a lodging place. Social life is developed out of, rather 
than in, the home. For the children of the poor there is 
often no yard and no adequate provision for recreation. 
Among the rich, conditions are somewhat better, though in 
fashionable apartment houses children are frequently ob¬ 
jected to by neighboring tenants or banned by landlords. 

Economic independence of women. — Until fairly recently 
a married woman was economically dependent upon her 
husband. But one of the effects of the Industrial Revolution 
has been to make many women economically independent. 
Until very recently women were entering the industrial field 
in great numbers, and their presence there is now taken as 
a matter of course. Many women now avoid marriage, 
partly because domestic interests fail to attract them, and 
partly because they have become genuinely interested in 
industry. Where domesticity is the ultimate aim, many 
women delay marriage because self-support renders them 
both able and desirous of retaining their independence for 
a considerable period. 

Domestic tranquillity is sometimes disturbed by the fact 
that wives were formerly self-supporting girls. In most cases 
wives are dependent upon their husbands in money matters, 
a situation which is apt to irritate women who were formerly 
self-supporting. The husband is often inclined to rate the 
generalized character of housework as being of less impor¬ 
tance than his own highly specialized work. The wife’s irri¬ 
tation at this may be increased by the fact that often she, 
too, believes that her domestic duties are less dignified and 
less valuable than her former work. 


THE FAMILY 


189 


Not only has the former independence of the wife made her 
less tolerant of domestic wrongs and slights, but the realiza¬ 
tion that she can support herself frequently encourages her 
to seek a divorce. The temptation to take this step is in¬ 
creased by the fact that public opinion now rarely frowns 
upon a divorced woman. This is in striking contrast to the 
situation two hundred years ago, when most divorced women 
were not only unable to support themselves, but were so¬ 
cially ostracized. 

Political emancipation of women. — Until very recently 
women have been legally and politically subordinate to men. 
As recently as a century ago women in the leading countries 
of the world were allowed neither to vote, nor to contract 
debts in their own name, nor to hold or will property. 

But within the last century women have been emancipated 
politically. Property rights have been extended them; the 
growth of the woman’s movement has resulted in the winning 
of female suffrage. Economic independence and social free¬ 
dom have combined with political emancipation to emphasize 
the spirit of individualism among women. Higher education 
for women, including a wider knowledge of legal matters, 
has acquainted women with their legal rights and privileges, 
and has made them familiar with the steps necessary to se¬ 
cure a divorce. 

Individualism may be exaggerated. — The American peo¬ 
ple are celebrated for their strongly individualistic character. 
This trait is closely related to the initiative and self-reliance 
which have helped toward our industrial success; on the 
other hand, individualism may be carried to the point of 
selfishness. It is desirable, of course, that both men and 
women maintain high standards of living, and that they 
cultivate their respective personalities. It should be noted, 
however, that marriage is often delayed or altogether avoided 
because of selfish ambition and the desire to live a care-free 
and self-centered life. The insistence which many young 
people place upon personal rights has encouraged the belief 
that marriage is intended for man’s and woman’s conven- 


190 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


ience, rather than for the building of normal homes and the 
development of community life. In too many marriages the 
contracting parties selfishly refuse to make the mutual con¬ 
cessions necessary in married life and so wreck their domestic 
happiness. 

Marriage tendencies. — Since 1890 the Census Bureau has 
collected statistics on marriage and divorce. Contrary to a 
widespread notion the marriage rate has increased, even 
though slightly, leaving a smaller proportion of unmarried 
people in our population. In 1930 about forty per cent of 
the population fifteen years of age and over were married. 
On the other hand, this general tendency may not apply 
to all our cities. In St. Louis, for example, 10,009 marriage 
licenses were issued in 1923, 7739 in 1928, 7601 in 1929, 
6368 in 1930, and 5363 in 1931. These figures show a steady 
decline and a decrease of almost fifty per cent in the eight 
years from 1923 to 1931. They also emphasize the economic 
aspects of marriage in cities. 

The census returns also demonstrate that people marry 
at an earlier age than formerly. The popular opinion to the 
contrary is probably based upon the late age at which pro¬ 
fessional and educated people marry. 

Laxity of our marriage laws. — Marriage laws often per¬ 
mit the mating of couples unfit for home-making. In some 
states the authorities are not overcareful to prevent the 
marriage of persons who are mentally defective. There is 
among the several states no agreement as to the legal age of 
marriage, and no agreement as to the relationship within 
which marriage is forbidden. Hasty unions have been en¬ 
couraged by the lack of solemnity which characterizes civil 
marriage. Marriage is more and more a civil contract, de¬ 
void of religious sanctions and spiritual associations. Many 
consider marriage as a civil relation not radically different 
from any other contract. The effect of this changed atti¬ 
tude has been to encourage the enactment of loose marriage 
laws, and the careless administration of sound marriage 
laws. 


THE FAMILY 


191 


The question of stricter marriage laws. — Stricter mar¬ 
riage laws are being advocated in many states. We know 
far too little about eugenics to warrant prediction as to the 
type of individuals best fitted to build normal homes, but it 
is clearly desirable to prohibit the marriage of all mental 
defectives. There are also good reasons for the restriction 
of the marriage of minors, of persons between whose ages 
there is a wide disparity, and of persons who are members 
of widely divergent races. It would probably check hasty 
marriages to increase the length of time elapsing between the 
issuance of the marriage license and the performance of the 
ceremony. If modern marriages were more distinctly upon 
a religious basis, it is likely that many persons who now 
rush thoughtlessly into marriage would be led seriously to 
reflect upon the significance of the step. 

Divorce tendencies. — A familiar sympton of family in¬ 
stability is the divorce rate. In 1867, the first year for which 
we have reliable figures, 9,937 divorces were granted in the 
United States. The number gradually increased; by 1905 
it had reached 67,976, and by 1926, 180,868. The present 
number is probably about 190,000 annually. This means 
that about one marriage out of every six ends in divorce. 
In 1920 there were 235,284 men and 273,304 women who 
were divorced; in 1930 the numbers had grown to 489,578 
men and 573,148 women. 

Viewed from one angle, the situation is even worse than 
the figures indicate, for many cases of domestic unhappiness 
do not result in divorce, but in separations, which are un¬ 
recorded. Among the city poor, for example, desertion is 
four times as frequent as divorce. 

These statistics must, however, be interpreted with care, 
especially when we set up comparisons between statistics 
from our own country and those from other countries. Our 
divorce rate is higher than that of European countries, but 
it should be remembered that in those countries where cus¬ 
toms, laws, and religious beliefs are relatively conservative, 
families may be held together legally in spite of the fact that 


192 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


they have already disintegrated. Thus family life may be 
as unstable in a country in which the divorce rate is low, as 
in a country in which the divorce rate is high. 

Within the last few years there are some indications that 
the rate of increase in divorce is slowing up. The economic 
situation which has apparently discouraged marriage has 
also lessened divorces in many of our cities. In St. Louis, 
for example, 2,690 divorces were granted in 1930, whereas 
only 2,356 were granted in 1931. In 1905 there was one 
divorce for every 12 marriages in the United States; in 
1916 the ratio was one to 9; in 1923, one to 7.6; in 1926, 
one to 6.6; and in 1930, one to 6. Thus it is apparent that 
the rate of increase is decreasing. It is possible that the evil 
has reached its zenith, and that future years may witness a 
lessening in the number of divorces. 

Divorce laws. — Many states have very lax laws in regard 
to divorce. The regulations vary from South Carolina, where 
no divorce whatever is granted, to the typical state which 
has ten or twelve grounds for divorce. Thus it is exceedingly 
easy in most states to secure a legal separation; New York, 
with its one cause, adultery, is an exceptional instance. 
Three-fourths of all divorces in the United States are granted 
upon the grounds of desertion or cruelty, although the legal 
grounds are not always the real cause, for parties to a suit 
must of necessity give a reason which is recognized in the 
particular state as legal grounds for divorce. Over ninety 
per cent of all divorces are granted for cruelty, desertion, 
adultery, drunkenness, or neglect. Altogether, there are 
thirty-six different grounds for divorce, some of which are 
rather trivial, e.g., incompatibility of temperament. 

Some other details may throw further light upon divorce 
laws. Two-thirds of the divorces are granted to women and 
one half of them within the first five years of married life. 
The divorce rate is twice as great among childless couples 
as in families where there are children. The divorce rate is 
higher among Protestants and Jews than among Catholics, 
whose church forbids it. Most states grant divorces to citi- 


THE FAMILY 


193 


zens only, but two states, Arkansas and Idaho, grant divorce 
to residents after ninety days, and Nevada grants it after 
forty-two days in residence. The divorce rate in Western 
states exceeds that in the East and South. 

The question of stricter divorce laws. —- Uniform divorce 
laws among the several states are now being agitated. The 
essential provisions of such laws may be outlined as follows: 
It is desirable to have a court of domestic relations, which 
shall carefully and wisely attempt a reconciliation of husband 
and wife before divorce proceedings are resorted to. Appli¬ 
cants for divorce should be bona fide residents of the state 
in which the suit is filed, and should be required to reside 
in the state two years before a decree of absolute divorce is 
granted. In some states at least, the number of grounds 
upon which divorce may be secured should be reduced. An 
adequate investigation should be undertaken, both in order 
to determine the justice of the suit, and to prevent collusion. 
The primary aim of the divorce laws should be to allow 
relief from a vicious and hopelessly wrecked union, but at 
the same time to prevent the misuse of the statutes by irre¬ 
sponsible and unscrupulous persons. 

Law not the ultimate remedy for family instability. — The 
careful enactment and wise administration of sound laws 
on marriage and divorce will undoubtedly check the number 
of unhappy and unsuccessful marriages. Nevertheless, law 
is not the ultimate remedy for family instability. Unduly 
restrictive marriage laws may result in abnormal tendencies 
among certain classes of the population, while severe prohi¬ 
bitions upon divorce may prevent individuals from securing 
release from a hopelessly wrecked marriage. Divorce is only 
a symptom of deeper-lying evils. Really to remove the 
dangers which threaten the integrity of the family we must 
go deeper than legislation. 

Economic and social readjustment. — One fundamental 
method of safeguarding the family is to counteract the in¬ 
jurious effects of the Industrial Revolution. Poverty must 
be lessened or eliminated, so that men will be enabled to 


194 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


marry and support families decently. The evils of over¬ 
crowding must be attacked in the interest of a normal home 
life. Mothers’ pensions and social insurance are desirable 
methods of protecting the laborer’s family against the risks 
of industry. The prohibition of child labor and the safe¬ 
guarding of women in industry will also tend to keep the 
family intact, and to permit proper home training. In short, 
any measures which will help individuals to adjust themselves 
to the economic and social changes of the present age will 
provide a more firm and solid foundation for a normal family 
life. 

Education and the family. — Far more fundamental than 
legislation on marriage and divorce is the training of young 
people toward a fuller appreciation of the responsibilities of 
home-making. In the problem of family instability, laws 
reach symptoms, while education attacks causes. By educa¬ 
tion is here meant not merely formal training in the school, 
but character-building of every type. This includes training 
in the home, in the school, and in the church. Only when 
boys and girls are accorded sound training by these various 
agencies will they be properly prepared to make homes. 

Our whole educational system ought to emphasize the im¬ 
portance of a pure and wholesome family life. The sanctity 
of the marriage bond, the seriousness of family responsibili¬ 
ties, and the duty to rear a normal healthy family, ought to 
be impressed upon every boy and girl. Young people should 
be taught to consider adolescence as a period of preparation 
for home-building. During this period it is the duty of the 
boy to fit himself for the proper support of a family, while 
the girl ought to feel obligated to become familiar with the 
task and duties of housekeeping. The choice of a husband 
or wife ought to be made, not on the basis of passing fancy, 
but with regard to a life of mutual service. Extreme indi¬ 
vidualism ought to be discouraged; personal pleasure ought 
to be interpreted in the light of marriage as a partnership. 
Above all, marriage should be faced with the realization 
that it requires adaptation and concessions on the part of 


THE FAMILY 


195 


both husband and wife. Mutual consideration and respect 
must predominate in the future American family, while the 
spirit of impatience and selfishness must be eliminated. 


Activities and References 
Significant Words and Phrases 

Family, fundamental institutions, home-making, household arts, factory 
system, economic independence of women, political emancipation of women, 
higher education, civil marriage, religious marriage, minor, divorce, desertion, 
causes of divorce, grounds for divorce, court of domestic relations. 

Questions 

1. What is the significance of the family? 

2. What were the striking characteristics of the medieval family? 

3. Why is the modern family in a period of transition? Why is this 

fraught with danger? 

4. List the chief consequences to the family of the Industrial Revolution. 

5. Was the transfer of production from the home to the factory beneficial 

to home life? 

6. What does the term “home-making” mean? 

7. Why is it harder today than it was a generation ago for parents to 

train their children for home-making? 

8. Why do boys as well as girls need definite training for successful 

home-making? 

9. What are some of the difficulties of home-making in crowded cities? 

10. How does the new economic independence of women react on mar¬ 

riage rates, on family life, and on divorce? Why? Can you name 
any favorable, as well as unfavorable, results? 

11. What other two rights gained in recent years by women have made 

them more independent of marriage? 

12. In what ways may too much individualism in young men and women 

prove a bar to happy home life? 

13. Is our marriage rate increasing or decreasing? 

14. In 1930, what per cent of our population of fifteen years and over was 

married? 

15. Do people marry earlier or later than formerly? 

16. In what respects are our marriage laws often responsible for unhappy 

marriages and for divorces? 

17. Give five or more suggestions for bettering marriage laws. Support 

each suggestion. 


196 PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 

18. In your opinion, what is the effect of current literature on attitudes 

toward marriage? Cite definite stories and books as examples. 

What other popular amusements have an influence? 

19. What is the ratio of marriages to divorces in the United States today? 

How does this compare with that of other countries? 

20. Is the divorce rate of a country a sound basis for judging the success 

of its family life? 

21. Is the divorce rate increasing or decreasing in our country today? 

22. What suggestions have been made to prevent divorces? 

23. What should be the aim of good divorce laws? 

24. In what respects would it be advantageous to have uniform marriage 

and divorce laws throughout the United States? 

25. Is the probate court in one state bound to respect the divorce decrees 

of another state? 

26. Why is the law not the ultimate cure for family instability? 

27. What social and economic changes are desirable in order to provide a 

proper foundation for a normal family life? 

28. What should be the chief aims of education with regard to preparation 

for home-making? 

Problems 

1. Problem: To obtain descriptions of some old-time family circles. 
Method: Read in Dickens’s Christmas Carol the account of the Christ¬ 
mas party, and in Burns’s The Cotter's Saturday Night. Sum up your 
impressions in a list of descriptive adjectives and phrases. Get your 
grandparents or older friends to describe their home life as children. 
How did it differ from the home life you live? 

2. Problem: To define the word “home.” Method: Let each member 
of the class bring the best definition which he can make or find. Let 
the class vote on the two best definitions. 

3. Problem: To discover what legal disabilities married women are under 
in your state. Method: Consult the statutes of your state and note 
the position of women as to disposal of property when the husband 
dies, as to control of their pre-marriage property, as to control of their 
own wages, and as to the guardianship of children when the husband 
dies. (The Secretary of State in most states will furnish a copy of the 
state statutes for your school library upon the request of the teacher. 
The volumes are usually well indexed.) 

4. Problem: To select the most important problems of the family. 
Method: List eight difficulties, such as low wages, poor houses, etc., 
which affect family life. Is a family happy in proportion to its income? 

5. Problem: To consider a course in home-making. Method: List twelve 
topics which you think should be considered in a course designed to 
help boys and girls become good husbands and wives. 


i 


THE FAMILY 


197 


References 

Bowen, Social Economy 

Burch and Patterson, American Social Problems 

Dow, Social Problems of Today 

Finney, Elementary Sociology 

Shideler, Group Life and Social Problems 

Towne, Social Problems 

Williamson, Introduction to Sociology 

-, Readings in American Democracy 



CHAPTER XVIII 


THE SCHOOL 

The meaning of education. — A half century ago educa¬ 
tion might have been defined as the process of acquiring 
chiefly through books certain types of knowledge which con¬ 
tributed to the culture of the individual. More recently the 
concept of education has been broadened and deepened. 
Present-day education aims not only to add to the culture 
of the individual, but to vitalize the community as well. 
Education is no longer limited to the study of books in a 
schoolroom. Activities and projects have to a considerable 
degree supplemented or replaced formal procedure. Educa¬ 
tion is no longer considered a preparation for adult life only, 
but it is thought of as guidance in present living. Teachers 
and school administrators are more aware of the students and 
their present needs than ever before. Education now in¬ 
cludes all agencies and activities which in any way help 
toward a fuller and more responsible citizenship. Education 
is no longer confined to infancy and youth but is a life-long 
process. Our educational system no longer assumes that the 
needs and capacities of all pupils are similar but attempts 
so to diversify training that each individual will be enabled to 
develop his peculiar powers and to contribute to American 
life in the manner best suited to his individual ability. Taken 
in its widest sense, education has seven great objectives. 
These are health, command of fundamental processes (such 
as reading, writing, and arithmetic), worthy home-member¬ 
ship, vocation, citizenship, worthy use of leisure, and ethical 
character. 1 

1 These objectives have been formulated by the National Commission 
on the Reorganization of Secondary Education. 

198 


THE SCHOOL 


199 


Education and democracy. — Two centuries ago the edu¬ 
cation of the masses was politically a matter of small con¬ 
cern, for most governments were conducted by a narrowly 
restricted class. But in a democracy education is fundamen¬ 
tal. The idea that the masses should govern themselves is 
an appealing one, but before self-government is safe a com¬ 
prehensive educational system must have made substantial 
inroads upon illiteracy 1 and ignorance. Not only must the 
citizen of a democracy be individually capable, but his ca¬ 
pacity to cooperate with his fellows must be large. Under 
an undemocratic government the people rely upon their 
rulers; in a democracy they must rely upon their own joint 
efforts. From both an individual and a social standpoint, 
therefore, democracy demands more of its educational sys¬ 
tem than does any other form of government. 

Development of education in the United States. — Edu¬ 
cation was an important concern in most of the American 
colonies, and especially so in New England. After 1800 the 
common school system was extended rapidly, the district 
school passing westward with the pioneer movement. Edu¬ 
cational facilities continued to expand; at the end of the 
Civil War period there were more than seven million children 
in the elementary schools of this country. The period follow¬ 
ing the Civil War also saw the beginnings of the high school, 
a characteristic American educational institution which arose 
to take the place of the older Latin grammar schools and the 
private academies. Normal schools for the training of teach¬ 
ers, and colleges and universities for higher education, 
developed rapidly after 1880. 

Since 1900 our school enrollment has grown enormously. 
In that year 519,251 students were enrolled in high schools; 
whereas in 1928 the number was 3,900,000. During the 
school year 1927-28 there were 821,753 teachers in service, 

1 According to the Bureau of the Census an illiterate person is one who 
cannot write in any language. In 1930 there were 4,283,753 illiterate 
persons above ten years of age in the United States. The percentage is 
4.3; whereas in 1920 it was 6. The percentage of illiteracy varies from 
.8 of one per cent in Iowa to 14.9 in South Carolina. 


200 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


and in 1930 there were 24,681,419 pupils enrolled in public 
schools. Thousands of others were in kindergartens and 
colleges, the latter group numbering, in 1928, 919,000. 

It is perhaps worth while, however, to note that the period 
of greatest expansion has passed. The 1930 census shows 
that there were 128,840 fewer children under five than there 
were in 1920. In 1920 children, five or under, constituted 



Children Under Five Years of Age, 1890-1930 

Will the number continue to decrease? If it does, what effect will it have on school 
attendance? Upon school costs? 

10.9 per cent of our population; whereas in 1930 the same 
group constituted only 9.3 per cent. It is probable that 
school enrollment may actually decrease. This fact has im¬ 
portant implications for those interested in school finances. 

Financing the schools. — The enormous growth in enroll¬ 
ment and the accompanying expansion of high schools, which 
prolonged the period of training, caused a corresponding rise 
in school costs. Longer terms, depreciation of the dollar, 
better trained teachers, more equipment, and an extended 
curriculum have all played a part in the mounting costs. 
In 1914 the national cost was $555,077,000 and in 1928 it 
was $2,184,337,000. The cost of sending a pupil to high 
school for one year varies from $52.16 in Atlanta, Georgia, 
to $157.37 in Yonkers, New York. The costs amount, how¬ 
ever, to only 2.4 per cent of our national income, a percentage 
that has not changed appreciably during the last ten years; 
schools consume only 36 per cent of local and state taxes. 

Since school costs are paid largely by direct local taxation, 














THE SCHOOL 


201 


the public has been keenly aware of the increasing burden. 
It must be said, however, that most districts have unself¬ 
ishly given willing and generous support to the educators 
in their efforts to develop more efficient school systems. It 
would be a matter of grave concern if the necessity of cur¬ 
tailing public expenditures and the demand for lower taxes 
should lead to a crippling of our schools. A trained citizenry 
offers the only hope of the permanent solution of our eco¬ 
nomic, political, and social ills, and without efficient and 
adequately supported schools, a trained citizenry is not possi¬ 
ble. Temporary economic distress should not lead to the 
crippling of the institution which promises to be the greatest 
assistance in the solution of our problems. 

Control of education in the United States. — In the United 
States education is a state rather than a national function. 
There is no Federal administration of schools, each state 
having its independent system. Each state has a system of 
elementary education, and nearly every state has a secondary 
or high school system. Nearly all of the states also have 
state universities in which instruction is either free or is 
available at a nominal charge. The public schools are sup¬ 
ported chiefly by local taxes and are controlled mainly by the 
local authorities. In most states local outlays are supple¬ 
mented, to a greater or less degree, by state contributions. 
State support is almost always accompanied by a measure 
of state control, though the extent of this control varies 
widely among the several states. 

The question of uniform standards. — To what extent 
should there be uniformity within our school system? We 
have no national system of education, and the lack of co¬ 
ordination between the educational systems of the several 
states has many undesirable features. Educational standards 
vary widely from state to state, and often from county to 
county within the same state. The confusion growing out 
of this situation has given rise to the demand for the systema¬ 
tization or standardization of our school facilities. 

The question is a difficult one. Most authorities believe 


202 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


that education ought not to be centralized under the Federal 
government, but ought, rather, to remain a state function. 
But even though it is not desirable to allow the Federal 
government to take over the chief educational powers of the 
state, it is believed by many that some national agency 
might render valuable service in coordinating the educational 
programs of the several states. 

Standardization within each state is considered desirable 
by most authorities. All of the educational facilities of a 
given commonwealth probably ought to be coordinated under 
some supervising state agency. The administrative ideal in 
state education is so to systematize the schools of the state 
that they will be bound together by a common purpose, 
guided by the same set of established principles, and directed 
toward the same social ends. 

School attendance. — A serious defect of our educational 
system arises in connection with school attendance. In many 
states the school attendance laws are laxly enforced. In 1930 
there were in the United States 33,366,497 persons between 
the ages of seven and twenty; as we have already noted, 
only 24,681,419 were enrolled in our public schools. In other 
words, only 74 per cent of persons within these age limits in 
the United States are in school. The percentage of this group 
in school varies from 83 per cent in Utah to 64 per cent in 
Georgia. Allowing liberally for those who have completed 
a high school course before the age of twenty, one can 
readily see that great numbers of boys and girls are allowed 
to go untrained. 

Within the last decade there has been a marked tendency 
among the several states to enforce school attendance laws 
more strictly. No less encouraging is the growing belief 
among educators that the school attendance period ought 
so to be adjusted that every child will be guaranteed the 
working essentials of an education. There is grave doubt 
as to the wisdom of raising the minimum age at which 
children may withdraw from school, but at least greater 
efforts ought to be made to keep children in school at least 


THE SCHOOL 


203 


for part-time schooling beyond the present compulsory period. 
As will be pointed out presently, much is already being 
done in this direction. 

Pupil ability. — The problem of individual differences 
among pupils has always existed, but its full significance 
has been recognized only within recent years. Probably 
the most important single factor in the success or failure of 
a pupil is intelligence. It is common knowledge that pupils, 
as well as adults, vary greatly in ability. Since native ability 
has been recognized as being so important, various studies 
have been made and hundreds of tests have been constructed 
to measure the I. Q., i.e ., intelligence quotient. These tests 
became well known as a result of their widespread use during 
the Great War. The following table shows the approximate 
percentage of our population falling within the various I. Q. 


groups. 



Per cent of 
population 

/. Q. 

Description 

1 

130- 

gifted 

5 

120- 

superior 

14 

110- 

bright 

30 

100- 

average or normal 

30 

90- 

average or normal 

14 

80- 

backward 

5 

70- 

very dull 

■1 

f 50-69 1 

25-40 

1 0-24j 

r ,, f moron 

feeb h imbecile 
mlnded [ idiot 


Authorities differ as to the nature of intelligence and as to 
the reliability of a test score, but we are concerned here only 
with the conclusions on which there is general agreement 
and with the way in which these conclusions have affected 
the organization of our schools. The old rigid type of grade 
organization was fairly well adapted to the majority of pupils, 
but it failed to take account of the two extremes, and as a 
result both the brighter and the slower pupils were neglected. 
Pupils of great ability and unusual talents should have the 


204 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


fullest opportunity to utilize their excellent qualities. It is 
to the interest of society that such persons should receive 
the best of training. This group has recently received full 
recognition, and psychologists and professors of education 
are giving much consideration to the training of pupils of 
unusual ability. The slower pupils have been given many 
considerations, and teachers have endeavored to modify their 
teaching in order to help them, but in doing so they have 
sometimes neglected the brighter pupils, who require, per¬ 
haps, just as much attention. The dullest pupils usually 
drop out of school and are cared for by other agencies out¬ 
side the school. Some attention will be given to this group 
in another chapter. 

A number of attempts have been made to provide for 
individual differences among pupils, two of the most im¬ 
portant being classification on the basis of ability (called 
homogeneous grouping by school authorities) and individual¬ 
ized instruction. According to the plan of classifying pupils 
on the basis of ability, bright pupils are segregated into one 
class and slower pupils into another. This plan is thought 
to provide advantages for both groups, and it simplifies, to 
some extent, the procedure of the teacher. Pupils who learn 
at a slower rate are not discouraged by unfair contrast with 
brighter pupils, and the latter will be able to make greater 
progress. According to the second plan, the teacher tries 
to adjust assignments to the varying levels of ability. Pupils 
can read, write, speak, paint, draw, sing, play, construct, 
and in a variety of ways they give expression to their varying 
talents. Several methods, such as the Dalton, Contract, 
Block, and Winnetka plans have been worked out in order 
to allow for these varying abilities. Many schools now use 
homogeneous grouping and individualized instruction. 

It is too early to pronounce an emphatic judgment upon 
the success of the attempts to classify and instruct pupils 
according to their varied abilities. Of one thing we can 
be sure: earnest and conscientious teachers and competent 
scholars are devoting their best efforts to improve instruction 


THE SCHOOL 205 

and to provide the best possible learning situation for every 
pupil. 

Merits of our educational system. — The merits of our 
educational system are of great significance. We are defi¬ 
nitely committed to the ideal of an educated citizenry. It 
has been the policy of the several states to establish and 
maintain free public schools. School attendance is com¬ 
pulsory, on full or part time, for children up to a certain age, 
the age varying from state to state. No public school is 
sectarian, the freedom of religious thought and action guaran¬ 
teed by the Federal Constitution having been continued into 
our public school system. The public schools stimulate dem¬ 
ocratic tendencies by bringing together large masses of chil¬ 
dren from all walks of life. Our school system likewise has 
an Americanizing influence upon a large number of foreigners 
because their children study in our public schools and then 
carry into their homes the influence of the school. Within 
the last quarter of a century our schools have greatly ex¬ 
tended their functions, becoming, in many cases, genuine 
community centers. 

Education as preparation for daily life. — It is sometimes 
said that our educational system neglects practical activities 
for subjects that have no immediate connection with the 
problems of daily life. Many citizens have thoughtlessly 
condemned the whole program of education because they 
have observed that particular schools have allowed pupils 
to go forth with a fund of miscellaneous knowledge which 
neither helps them to get a better living, nor aids them in 
performing the duties of citizenship. On the basis of these 
and allied considerations, there is a growing demand that 
education be made more “practical.” 

There is much to be said for and against this attitude. 
Some enthusiasts are apparently carrying the demand for 
“practical” education too far. The growing importance in 
our industrial life of efficiency and practical training should 
not blind us to the fact that education is cultural as well as 
occupational or vocational. The education of an individual 


206 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


is not estimated alone by the degree to which he succeeds 
in practical affairs, but as well by the extent to which he 
shows evidence of training in the appreciation of moral, 
social, and artistic values. It is sometimes difficult to see 
that the study of literature, ancient languages, and similar 
subjects is preparation for life, and yet the problem-solving 
process learned in these fields may prove as important as 
studies which aid more directly and immediately in getting a 
living. 

On the other hand, our educational system must take note 
of the growing importance of industrial activities. Since 
education is guidance in living, the school must accommo¬ 
date itself to the changes which are now taking place in our 
economic and social organization. As modern society be¬ 
comes more complex, more tinged with industrial elements, 
more a matter of cooperation and interdependence, educa¬ 
tion must become more inclusive, more attentive to voca¬ 
tional needs, and more emphatic in the stress which it lays 
upon the actual duties of citizenship. 

The more complex are the needs of daily life, the greater 
the necessity of shifting emphasis in education. But in thus 
shifting the emphasis in education we must be careful not 
to disturb the balance between cultural and practical sub¬ 
jects. To discriminate between what should be taught and 
what should be omitted from the curriculum, to retain the 
finest elements of our cultural studies, but at the same time 
to fit our citizens to meet the demands of office, shop, and 
factory, — these are the tasks of the educator. 

Vocational education. — Vocational training is one of the 
most significant developments in modern education. This 
type of education is designed to train the young person to 
earn a good living in that branch of work for which he seems 
best fitted. Some of the supporters of vocational education 
believe that this specialized form of training ought to be 
commenced very early and in connection with the regular 
curriculum. Others think that vocational education should 
not be attempted until the child has been given enough 


THE SCHOOL 207 

generalized training to enable him properly to perform the 
fundamental duties of citizenship. 

But whatever its relation to the curriculum, vocational 
education is of great significance. If combined with voca¬ 
tional guidance it not only prevents the boy or girl from 
aimlessly drifting into an unskilled occupation, but it singles 
out for special attention children who show special aptitude 
for particular trades and professions. Vocational education 
for the blind, the deaf, the crippled, and the otherwise dis¬ 
abled is social service of the finest and most constructive 
type. 

Federal encouragement of education. — In February, 1917, 
Congress passed the Smith-Hughes Act, establishing a Fed¬ 
eral Board for Vocational Education. This board promotes 
vocational education in cooperation with the several states, 
and administers the federal aid granted to the states under 
the Act. Each state accepting the provisions of the Act 
must provide a state board to control a system of vocational 
schools. Evening, part-time, and continuation schools offer 
instruction in agriculture, industry, commerce, transporta¬ 
tion, and the professions. Each state must also agree to 
appropriate, either through the state or locally, an amount 
of money for teachers’ salaries, equivalent to the sum received 
from the federal board. Such states must also agree to 
provide proper buildings and meet the running expenses of 
the system. 

The Office of Education in the Department of Interior 
collects statistics and coordinates educational activities 
by acting as a clearing house of information. In 1930 it 
began two national surveys, one to gather the facts about 
teacher training and the other to study secondary education. 
Large committees set to work on these cooperative surveys. 

There has been considerable agitation for the creation of a 
Department of Education with a secretary in the president’s 
cabinet. The proposal has been repeatedly endorsed by 
teachers associations and by two successive presidents. The 
trend of opinion seems, however, to be against any step that 


208 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


would extend federal control over education. The National 
Advisory Committee, appointed to study the problems of 
federal control, went on record in its report of 1931 as oppos¬ 
ing additional grants for other special types of education. 
The committee also recommended that federal grants to the 
states be made with no specific restrictions as to their ex¬ 
penditure ; it advised that the national research program be 
expanded. A majority of the committee also endorsed the 
proposal for the creation of a department of education. 

Limitations of the conventional school term. — A few dec¬ 
ades ago, the typical school in an American city offered 
instruction to certain classes of young people between nine 
o’clock in the morning and three or four o’clock in the after¬ 
noon, for from 150 to 180 days a year. During the rest of the 
time the schoolhouse was idle. 

This policy greatly restricted the education of important 
groups of people. Adult immigrants were barred from the 
elementary public schools. Persons desiring educational guid¬ 
ance in special fields often found that the school offered them 
no help. Cripples, men and women employed in the day¬ 
time, and other individuals who found it impossible or incon¬ 
venient to attend school during the conventional time limits, 
were restricted in educational opportunity. Many boys and 
girls who drop out of school because of the necessity of going 
to work, do so before their education has been completed. 
For most of these classes, the inability to take advantage of 
the regular school term has meant the denial of adequate 
education. 

Wider use of the school plant. — Recently the “wider 
use of the school plant” movement is helping these classes 
to secure or continue their education. For unassimilated im¬ 
migrants, day and evening courses in citizenship are now 
provided in many cities and towns. In many cities vacation 
schools have been established for the convenience of children 
who have failed in their studies, or who are able and willing 
to make unusual progress in various subjects. For those 
who work by day there is often a chance to go to school by 


MAIN READING ROOM IN THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY 
Why are books so important in a complex society? Why do savages not need books? 












































A CLASS OF BOYS IN A SCHOOL NATURE LEAGUE ROOM 
What materials are included in the term “Nature” as used here? 














THE SCHOOL 


209 


night. For those who find it inexpedient to leave their 
homes, there are, in many places, travelling libraries and 
correspondence courses. In some western states the farmer 
now has an opportunity of taking extension courses from the 
State university during those seasons in which his work is 
lightest. For pupils who are under the necessity of partially 
or entirely supporting themselves, some cities now have part- 
time or all-year schools. 

The school as a social center. — Closely associated with 
the movement to extend school facilities to those who would 
ordinarily be debarred from them, is the movement toward 
making the school a social center. Many city and some 
rural schools now provide free to the general public lectures 
on science, art, literature, and business. Moving pictures, 
dramatics, and other forms of entertainment are becoming 
a regular feature of this type of school work. In many 
schools the gymnasiums are available to the public under 
reasonable restrictions. Folk singing and dancing are being 
encouraged in numerous schools. Schoolrooms devoted by 
day to regular school courses are in many places being used 
during the evening for the discussion of public questions. 
In these and other ways the school is becoming a center of 
life for the community. It is extending into the homes of 
the people and is becoming the instrument of the community 
rather than of a particular group. 

Education and progress. — Education should render the 
individual able and willing to do his duty toward himself and 
his country. The boys and girls of today are the voters and 
home-makers of tomorrow, and the responsibility of prepar¬ 
ing those boys and girls for the efficient conduct of com¬ 
munity life rests almost entirely upon the school. Thus edu¬ 
cation is one of the most basic factors in social progress. 
Neither a reorganized economic system nor the most care¬ 
fully drawn laws on social questions will solve the problems 
of American democracy until the individual citizen is trained 
to a proper appreciation of his responsibilities toward himself 
and toward his country. 


210 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


Activities and References 
Significant Words and Phrases 

Education, culture, illiteracy, diversification of training, intelligence quo¬ 
tient, I. Q., test score, feeble-minded, moron, imbecile, idiot, bright, superior, 
gifted, provision for individual differences, homogeneous grouping, Smith- 
Hughes Act, Office of Education . 


Questions 

1. Contrast the meaning of education as conceived today with its popular 

meaning fifty years ago. 

2. What have been suggested as the seven great objectives for education? 

3. Why is education fundamental in a democracy? 

4. How would the aims of education differ in a democracy and in a 

despotism? 

5. Give the approximate dates when our common schools, our secondary 

schools, and our institutions of higher learning developed in the 
United States. 

6. Why has the United States from its early days given generous support 

to free education? 

7. Is it true that in a certain sense an eighth grade education was in 1885 

the equivalent of a high school education today? 

8. Why is it probable that school enrollment may in the near future 

actually decrease? Can you add any reasons to that given in the 
text? 

9. Give five specific reasons for the increasing cost of maintaining our 

schools. 

10. What percentage of our national income is devoted to our schools? 

Of our state and local taxes? 

11. Is the amount spent for schools a good investment for our country? 

12. Why do some of our taxpayers feel that too much is spent for schools? 

Evaluate their reasons. 

13. How is education controlled in the United States? In European 

countries? 

14. How far is standardization or uniformity within our school system 

desirable? Give reasons. 

15. What is the percentage of illiteracy in the United States? In your 

state? 

16. Why is illiteracy in the United States higher than in some European 

countries? 

17. What is the minimum age at which children in your state may with¬ 

draw from school? 


THE SCHOOL 211 

18. What are the arguments against raising this minimum age? What 

other suggestion is feasible? 

19. What is meant by the education term I. Q.? 

20. How reliably can intelligence be measured? 

21. Why should both pupils of unusual ability and those of slower powers 

have special training? 

22. What are morons? Do they usually enter high school? 

23. What specific attempts have been made to provide for individual 

differences among pupils? 

24. Name six or more definite merits of our educational system. 

25. Should education be practical or cultural? 

26. What is the benefit of vocational education? 

27. Give the provisions of the Smith-Hughes Act. 

28. What is the federal government doing to aid education? 

29. Should there be greater federal control of education? 

30. What classes of our people are being benefited by the growing move¬ 

ment for the “wider use of the school plant”? 

31. What is the relation of education to social progress? 

Problems 

1. Problem: To compare your school with those of the preceding genera¬ 
tion. Method: Show your father your most attractive textbook and 
ask him to contrast it with the ones which he studied. Ask him about 
the equipment (library, lockers, fountain, gymnasium, etc.) of his 
school. Present your summary to the class. 

2. Problem: To examine the problem of uniform standards. Method: 
Select the pupil who has transferred from another school. Let him 
report as to the difficulties which he encountered in making the 
transfer. What are his reactions on the question of uniform standards? 

3. Problem: To learn the principal provisions of the school attendance 
laws in your state. Method: Interview your superintendent or at¬ 
tendance officer and find out at what age pupils may secure work 
permits, what grade standards are enforced, and the provisions for 
enforcing these laws. 

4. Problem: To learn more about intelligence tests. Method: Ask your 
teacher to tell you about Binet, Thorndike, and other psychologists 
and to explain mental and achievement tests. (You will learn that 
tests are indications rather than absolute measures, but they are 
nevertheless useful indications.) 

5. Problem: To find out what provisions are being made for adult educa¬ 
tion in your town. Method: By interviews find out (1) what extension 
classes are held, (2) what institutions of learning are open to adults, 
(3) what correspondence courses are available. 


212 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


References 

Arnold, Problems in American Life 
Cubberley, Public Education in the United States 
Finney, Elementary Sociology 
Magruder, American Government 
Shideler, Group Life and Social Problems 
Williamson, Introduction to Sociology 
-, Readings in American Democracy 




CHAPTER XIX 


RURAL LIFE 

The importance of rural life. — Do the problems of rural 
life concern people in cities? Over forty per cent of our 
people are found in rural districts, most of them subsisting 
directly upon the products of farm, forest, and range. Di¬ 
rectly or indirectly our cities are largely dependent upon the 
country. The foodstuffs consumed in cities, as well as the 
vast quantities of raw materials used by our manufacturing 
industries, come largely from the rural districts. To some 
extent our urban or city population is recruited from the 
ranks of the country folk. Altogether, American rural life 
is a matter of vital concern to the nation. “Our civilization 
rests at bottom/’ Theodore Roosevelt once said, “upon the 
wholesomeness, the attractiveness, and the completeness, 
as well as the prosperity, of life in the country.” 

The problems. — Why should we have a chapter specially 
treating the problems of “life in the country,” when we do 
not have one specially devoted to urban or city life? The 
fact of the matter is that the problems of city life are so 
numerous that we have devoted several chapters to them. 
For example, most of the economic problems are centered 
in cities; social problems, such as divorce, are more acute 
in cities; and even political problems are more apparent in 
crowded areas. The special problems of life in cities are, 
therefore, taken care of by our many chapters on economic, 
social, and political problems. 

Life in rural regions has, however, raised problems that 
can best be treated in one chapter because they have their 
setting in a similar environment. It is indeed true that, 
compared with his predecessor of a century ago, the farmer 

213 


214 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


of today is better fed, better clothed and housed, and better 
able to secure adequate education and recreation. Never¬ 
theless, the great advances which cities have made in eco¬ 
nomic and social activities tend to place rural life at a dis¬ 
advantage with urban life. The specific problem of rural life , 
then , is to develop in the country economic and social institu¬ 
tions which are especially adapted to the farmer’s needs and at 
the same time enable him to keep abreast of the rapid develop¬ 
ments in the economic and social life of the nation as a whole , 
including its cities. Not until this is done shall we be able to 
maintain on our farms a class of people who can make the 
maximum contribution to American life in all of its phases. 

The rural problem is of recent origin. — The most spectac¬ 
ular development in American economic life has been the 
introduction and growth of the factory system. Commerce 
and manufactures were important during even the colonial 
period, and during the first half century of our national 
history our dominant economic interest was the fostering of 
manufacturing, domestic trade, and transportation. With 
the development of manufacturing came the growth of the 
cities, and with the growth of the cities added attention was 
called to immigration, crime, health, and related social prob¬ 
lems. Farm life, so familiar and apparently so healthful, 
was not thought of as constituting a national problem until 
late in the nineteenth century. 

The cityward drift. — A half century ago more than three- 
fourths of our population was rural; today 56.2 per cent of 
our population live in cities as opposed to 43.8 per cent in the 
rural districts. Both urban and rural districts have been 
steadily increasing in population since the opening of the 
nineteenth century, but since 1900 the city population has 
increased 16.2 per cent, whereas rural population has de¬ 
creased 16.2 per cent. One reason for this more rapid growth 
of the cities is that since the eighties the majority of our 
immigrants have flocked to the cities rather than to the rural 
districts. Another reason, however, is that the country 
people have been drifting to the towns and cities. This city- 


RURAL LIFE 215 

ward drift has an important bearing upon the character of 
rural life. 

Reasons for the cityward drift. — A number of factors 
explain the tendency of rural people to move to the cities. 
The perfection and wider use of farm machinery have de¬ 
creased the need for farm laborers, and the excess laborers 
have gone to the towns and cities. The fact that urban 
industries offer shorter hours, better pay, and cleaner work 
than does farming has attracted many young country people. 
The isolation of farm life and its frequent lack of comforts 
have impelled many country dwellers to move to the cities. 
Some country people have gone to the city in order to be 
near schools and churches, and in order to have access to 
competent doctors and well-equipped hospitals. The craving 
for a more fully developed social life than many rural dis¬ 
tricts afford has been an additional cause of the cityward 
drift. Unfortunately, the glamour of urban life, with its 
spectacles and its artificial pleasures, has also been a factor 
in the movement away from the country. 

Wherein the cityward drift is desirable. — In some re¬ 
spects the cityward drift is a desirable development. When 
laborers who are no longer needed on the farms move city¬ 
ward, the cityward drift may have the beneficial effect of 
removing such laborers to where they may ordinarily find 
employment. It should also be remembered that successful 
rural life requires qualities which may be lacking in many 
individuals born and reared in the country. In so far as the 
cityward drift is composed of such individuals, it may be a 
helpful movement, since individuals unsuited to rural life 
may find themselves adapted to some type of urban life. 
When unneeded and unhelpful individuals are removed from 
the country, the rural population may be more efficient and 
more prosperous, even though relatively more sparse. 

Wherein the cityward drift is undesirable. — In so far 
as the cityward drift brings to the city individuals unsuited 
to urban conditions, the movement away from the country 
may be undesirable. It is certainly undesirable when the 


216 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


individuals in question are really suited to rural life. The 
tendency of young people to move to the cities may ulti¬ 
mately deprive the country of its natural leaders. Certainly 
the colleges and factories of the cities often drain the country 
of its most able and ambitious boys and girls. The cityward 
migration of such persons may strengthen the urban popula¬ 
tion, but it weakens rural society and retards the progress of 
rural institutions. 

Status of the “back to the land” movement. — Some 
reformers have sought to offset the cityward drift by an 
artificial ‘ ‘ back to the land ’ ’ movement. To the extent that it 
would bring to the country persons really able to contribute to 
rural life, this movement is a desirable one. In so far as it 
would bring to the country persons unprepared or unable 
to adapt themselves to rural conditions, such a movement is 
injurious. On the basis of the data now available, we are 
warranted in concluding that the “back to the land” move¬ 
ment is founded upon sentiment and caprice rather than 
upon sound principles. It attacks the rural problem at the 
wrong end. If the natural leaders of the country are repelled 
by rural life and attracted by urban conditions, the remedy 
is not to create an artificial movement toward the country, 
but rather to make rural life so attractive that country boys 
and girls will prefer it to city life. The chief question before 
us is this: How can the country be made so attractive that 
individuals interested in, and suited to, rural life may be 
encouraged to lend themselves to its fullest development? 
Let us see what is being done toward answering this question. 

The federal government and rural life. — The success of 
the American farmer is due, in considerable part, to the 
activities of the federal government. For more than a half 
century the Department of Agriculture has systematically 
encouraged various phases of agricultural industry. The 
department conducts investigations and experiments de¬ 
signed to give farmers helpful information concerning soils, 
grains, fruits, and live stock. It distributes seeds gratui¬ 
tously, and attempts to encourage scientific methods among 


RURAL LIFE 


217 


farmers. The Department issues a Year-book, a Monthly 
Weather Review, a Crop Reporter, and a series of Farmers’ 
Bulletins. Among the more important subdivisions of the 
department are the bureaus of animal industry, soils, mar¬ 
kets, and the office of farm management. The work of the 
Department of Agriculture is ably supplemented by the work 
of the reclamation bureau, which, under the direction of the 
Secretary of the Interior, is increasing the productivity of 
waste and arid lands. 

The Federal Farm Loan Act. 1 — The growing need of 
credit facilities among farmers resulted in 1916 in the passage 
of the Federal Farm Loan Act. By the terms of this act, the 
United States is divided into twelve districts, in each of which 
a Federal land bank is established. A Federal Farm Loan 
Board has general charge of the entire system, but each Farm 
Loan Bank is allowed a large measure of freedom in its own 
district in the organization of local Farm Loan Associations. 
A local association is made up of a number of farm owners, 
or persons about to become owners, who desire to borrow 
money. The Bank will not deal with the individual farmer 
except through the local association, but when a farmer has 
been vouched for by this association, he may receive from 
the Bank of his district a loan at not more than six per cent 
interest. The Bank authorizes loans for the purchase or 
improvement of land, for the purchase of live stock, and for 
the erection of farm buildings. Loans must be secured by 
first mortgages not exceeding in amount fifty per cent of the 
assessed value of the land and twenty per cent of the value 
of the improvements thereon pledged as security. Loans 
may run from five to forty years, and provision is made for 
the gradual payment, in small sums, of both principal and 
interest. 

Marketing needs of the farmer. — A problem vitally af¬ 
fecting not only the farmer but the urban consumer as well, 

1 Farm loans, from the standpoint of banking facilities in general, were 
treated in Chapter XII. They are studied here for the purpose of noting 
their effects upon rural life. 


218 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


has to do with the marketing of farm produce. The price of 
farm produce often doubles or trebles between the farm and 
the urban kitchen. This is largely because of a cumbersome 
marketing system and an overabundance of middlemen. Of¬ 
ten the farmer gets entirely too little for his produce, while 
the city housewife pays too much for it. If the farmer is 
to secure a larger return for his labor, and if the cost of food¬ 
stuffs in cities is to be reduced, we must devise more efficient 
methods of marketing farm produce. 

There is a general agreement among experts that in the 
marketing of farm produce there ought to be some method 
of securing the cooperation of farmer, urban consumer, and 
government. The further improvement of country roads, 
together with the development of trolleys, motor trucking 
and other means of farm-to-city transport would reduce haul¬ 
age charges. The number of public markets in cities should 
be increased, so that farm produce might be sold to consum¬ 
ers without the interference of unnecessary middlemen. The 
grading and standardization of farm products would also 
facilitate sale by making it unnecessary for prospective pur¬ 
chasers minutely to examine goods offered by the farmers. 
In some cases farmers might advantageously sell their prod¬ 
uce directly to urban consumers. The cooperative market¬ 
ing of farm produce also has the effect of reducing the 
number of middlemen. 

One of the most important phases of marketing reform is 
the regulation of commission dealers. Many farmers com¬ 
monly ship their produce to commission dealers in the city. 
These dealers are supposed to sell this produce and to return 
to the farmer the money thus secured, minus a small com¬ 
mission. In many instances these middlemen return to the 
farmer smaller sums than market conditions entitle the 
farmer to. At the same time, commission dealers often add 
an excessive amount to the price which they in turn ask of 
retailers and consumers. In a few states commission dealers 
handling farm produce must now be licensed. They are 
obliged to keep records which will enable an inspector to 


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A MODERN WAY OF CULTIVATING CORN 

This tractor, near Peoria, Illinois, covers seventy-five acres in an eight-hour day. 
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RURAL LIFE 


219 


tell whether or not they have made false returns to farmers 
concerning the condition of goods on arrival, the time at 
which sold, and the price secured. A dealer convicted of 
dishonest methods loses his license. The future should see 
an extension of this licensing system. 

Other economic needs of the farmer. — The economic 
position of the farmer has been materially strengthened 
within the last forty years, yet much remains to be done 
before farming may be considered an altogether satisfactory 
and attractive occupation. Tenancy in rural districts needs 
to be studied carefully. Tenancy is not necessarily an evil, 
especially where it is a step toward ownership, but its rapid 
increase in this country has caused many serious problems 
to arise. From both the economic and the social point of 
view it is desirable that farmers own their land. Tenants 
have no permanent interest in the upkeep of the farm or in 
the rural community. Where tenancy is widespread, land 
and buildings deteriorate, and the development of rural 
institutions is slow. 

Machinery is shortening the hours of labor for the farmer, 
and scientific farming is increasing his efficiency; neverthe¬ 
less, in most sections of the country rural life still means long 
hours of hard labor for small returns. Many farmers still 
work ten hours a day in winter, twelve in summer, and from 
thirteen to fifteen in the harvest season. Despite this sustained 
effort, the perishable character of his product, the uncer¬ 
tainty of weather conditions, and his dependence upon 
commission dealers too often jeopardize the returns to the 
farmer. 

Rural health. — We have noticed that in some cases people 
have moved to the city because in the country doctors tend 
to be both scarce and poorly trained, while frequently hos¬ 
pitals are inaccessible. 

Recently a number of influences are counteracting this 
relative backwardness. The isolation of the rural dweller is 
disappearing before the automobile and the telephone. In 
many sections able doctors are increasingly plentiful. In 


220 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


most rural districts which are near large cities, there is now an 
efficient system of visiting nurses, free clinics, and health bul¬ 
letins. Health campaigns are spreading the fundamental prin¬ 
ciples of sanitation into many of the outlying districts also. 

But these measures, while helpful, are only a beginning. 
In the more isolated rural sections, ignorance of sanitary 
methods is still a serious evil. Many rural dwellers still rely 
upon traditional but ineffective remedies for common com¬ 
plaints. Quacks having nostrums and injurious patent medi¬ 
cines to sell often prey upon rural communities in which 
there is no adequate provision for doctors, nurses, and hos¬ 
pitals. Farmhouses are in many cases poorly ventilated in 
summer and overheated in winter. Stables and stock pens 
are so close to the farmhouse as to render difficult the pro¬ 
tection of the dwelling against flies and mosquitoes. 

The rural school. — The chief education institution in 
rural districts has long been the small district school, inade¬ 
quately supported and often inefficiently conducted. 

But recently rural education has shown many signs of 
improvement. In most sections of the country the develop¬ 
ment of farm machinery has so reduced the amount of manual 
labor on the farm that rural children are enabled to remain in 
school for a longer period than formerly. The district school 
is in many cases being supplanted by the consolidated school. 
Under the consolidation plan, a single large and well-equipped 
schoolhouse takes the place of a number of separate, small 
schools, indifferently equipped. When consolidation is ac¬ 
companied by improved means of transporting children to 
school, the advantages of the plan are numerous. Because 
consolidation is a more economical arrangement than the old 
district plan, it allows larger salaries to be offered. This 
in turn allows the rural school to secure a higher grade of 
teacher. The trained educator is also attracted by the fact 
that the consolidation of rural schools allows curricula to 
be standardized and enlarged. Scientific agriculture and 
allied subjects are slowly finding their way into the rural 
grade school. The rural high school is beginning to appear. 


RURAL LIFE 


221 


In some sections of the country, on the other hand, the 
rural school is still in an unsatisfactory condition. In a num¬ 
ber of states the rural school needs a more intelligent and con¬ 
sistent support from the taxpayers, in order that better 
teachers, more and better schoolhouses, and better working 
equipment may be provided. In many sections of the country 
there is very little understanding of the advantages of school 
consolidation and the necessity of more adequate rural educa¬ 
tion. It is desirable that rural schools be more closely corre¬ 
lated with the admirable work being done by experiment 
stations and agricultural colleges. The agricultural press 
might well cooperate with the rural schools in attacking the 
problems of country life. Without doubt the rural school 
curriculum should place more emphasis upon practical agri¬ 
culture and other subjects which will demonstrate the dignity 
and the attractiveness of rural life. Finally, it is desirable 
that an increasing use be made of the schoolhouse as a social 
center. 

The rural church. — The rural church, though an older 
institution than the rural school, is advancing less rapidly. 
In many sections the cityward drift has drained the able min¬ 
isters to the city, leaving inferior men to carry on the work 
of the rural church. Other rural sections have never had the 
benefit of an able clergy. In every part of the country it 
often happens that country ministers are not only inade¬ 
quately trained, but are uninterested in rural problems. 

One of the greatest needs of the American farming com¬ 
munity, therefore, is a vitalized church. In many places 
rural districts are overchurched, and there is great need of 
some such consolidation as has been developed among rural 
schools. This development would so decrease the number of 
ministers needed that higher salaries could be offered. This, 
in turn, would attract more highly trained ministers to the 
country. It is also desirable that rural ministers be trained 
to a keener appreciation of the economic and social problems 
of the country, with a view to making religion a practical 
help in solving the problems of everyday life. An efficient 


222 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


and vitalized church could advantageously be used as a 
focal point for the development of every phase of rural com¬ 
munity life. 

Isolation the menace of rural life. — Isolation may be said 
to be the menace of rural life, as congestion is the menace 
of urban life. In many out-of-the-way rural districts isolation 
has resulted in moral inertia and intellectual dullness. Isola¬ 
tion has weighed particularly hard upon the farmer’s wife. 
Often she is called upon, not only to rear a large family, but 
to cook and keep house for hired men, raise poultry and 
garden stuff, and even to help in the fields during the harvest 
season. Because of this deadening routine, she has had fewer 
chances than the farmer to go to town, to meet people, or 
otherwise to secure a share of social life. 

Community spirit in the country. — In view of the in¬ 
jurious effects of rural isolation, it is encouraging to note the 
beginnings of a genuine community spirit in country districts. 
To a considerable extent this development is the result of 
improved means of transportation and communication. The 
coming of the automobile, the telephone, the radio, and the 
trolley, the development of the rural free delivery, the parcel 
post, and the agricultural press — all these factors have been 
important. The farmer has been enabled to share more and 
more in the benefits of city life without leaving the farm. 
Even more important, perhaps, improved methods of trans¬ 
portation and communication have stimulated social inter¬ 
course among farmers. Cooperation in church and school 
work has been encouraged. Clubs and community centers 
are more practicable where farmers make use of the automo¬ 
bile and the telephone. The fair and the festival are also 
proving to be admirable methods of developing the coopera¬ 
tive spirit in rural life. 

The growing realization among students of rural life that a 
strong and constructive community spirit is not only de¬ 
sirable but possible, is encouraging an interest in rural prob¬ 
lems. The development of such a spirit must ultimately 
stimulate a healthy social life in the country, with a resultant 


RURAL LIFE 


223 


increase in health and prosperity, not only for the farmer but 
for the nation as a whole. 

Activities and References 
Significant Words and Phrases 

Rural life, urban life, cityward drift, Department of Agriculture, Federal 
Farm Loan Act, tenant farmer, consolidated school, curriculum, community 
spirit, isolation, church consolidation. 

Questions 

1. What is the importance of rural life to our nation? 

2. Why does rural life need to be discussed in a special section, while 

city life is not? 

3. What is the specific problem of rural life? Why? 

4. Why is our rural problem of recent origin? 

5. What is meant by the cityward drift? What are the reasons for it? 

6. To what extent is this drift desirable? To what extent is it undesirable? 

7. What is the “back to the land movement”? Is it desirable? 

8. What do the authors of your text consider the best solution for the 

rural problem? 

9. Enumerate the ways in which the Department of Agriculture helps 

the farmer. 

10. What is the aim of the Federal Farm Loan Act? How may a farmer 

get a loan? 

11. Why is the marketing of farm products a problem? 

12. What are five or more suggestions for solving this problem? Which 

of these have been tried out in your locality? How successful have 
they been? 

13. Why is it desirable that farmers own their land? 

14. Why can the farmer not observe an eight-hour day? 

15. What factors tend to make the financial returns to the farmer highly 

uncertain? Which of these are remediable? 

16. How have rural health conditions been improved? What still needs 

to be done? 

17. What educational drawbacks have until recently made rural life un¬ 

attractive? What gains have been made? 

18. What is the purpose of consolidating the rural school? 

19. Should the rural school curriculum differ from the city school cur¬ 

riculum? 

20. Name rural groups that may to advantage use the school house as a 

social center. 


224 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


21. How may the rural church best serve rural needs? 

22. What is the effect of isolation upon farm life? 

23. Mention six conveniences which farmers now have which they did 

not have twenty years ago. 

24. Why should farmers “keep books” as carefully as city merchants? 

25. How have mail-order and local stores helped to alter rural styles? 

Problems 

1.. Problem: To set forth the relative advantages of the country and the 
city. Method: Resolved, that rural life is as attractive as city life. 
Debate this proposition. 

2. Problem: To appreciate the changes in country towns within the last 
few years. Method: Collect pictures of the streets and business build¬ 
ings of twenty years ago. Contrast these with present conditions. 
Perhaps some older person would be glad to picture the changes in 
his home town. 

3. Problem: To study the effects of organization upon rural commu¬ 
nities. Method: Make a report on the work and history of 4-H Clubs. 
Your county agricultural agent will be glad to assist you. 

4. Problem: To examine the story of community centers. Method: Con¬ 
sult the Reader's Guide for an article on a specific community center, 
or recount the development of one which you have observed. 

5. Problem: To become acquainted with the agricultural information 
given out by the United States government. Method: Consult the 
latest report of the Secretary of Agriculture. Send to the Department 
of Agriculture for a list of the publications obtainable from the depart¬ 
ment. Post your findings on the bulletin board. 

6. Problem: To ascertain the strength and causes of the drift to the city. 
Method: In class take an informal census of the cityward drift in a 
sample rural area that is well known to members of the class. Let a 
pupil chairman preside over the discussion on causes, results, and 
future prospects. 

7. Problem: To picture the recent changes in farm life. Method: Write 
a one act play. The city uncle, who has been away for years, comes 
to the farm for a visit. His brother, the farmer, shows him the 
tractor, the electric plant, and the new dairy house. The uncle 
enters the house and is forced to admire the tasteful furnishings, 
the up-to-date books and magazines, and the sophisticated con¬ 
versation. Perhaps the young people are going to a dance. Picture 
the uncle’s surprise at their stylish appearance. Plan the climax 
carefully. 


RURAL LIFE 


225 


References 

Carver, Rural Economics 

Galpin, Rural Life 

Gillette, Rural Sociology 

Lundquist and Moore, Rural Social Science 

Towne, Social Problems 

Vogt, Introduction to Rural Sociology 

Williamson, Readings in American Democracy 


CHAPTER XX 


THE NEGRO 

Origin of the American Negro. — Early in the seventeenth 
century the scarcity of labor in the American colonies led 
to the introduction of African Negroes as slaves. In re¬ 
sponse to the demand for slave labor on the southern planta¬ 
tions, the importation of Negroes increased steadily during 
the next century. The foreign slave trade was nominally 
abolished in 1808, but Negroes continued to be brought in 
until the Civil War period. In September, 1862, President 
Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, abolishing 
slavery in the areas in secession from the United States 
on January 1, 1863. The legality of this act was substan¬ 
tiated in 1865 by the Thirteenth Amendment to the federal 
Constitution. 

Rise of the Negro problem. — The Emancipation Procla¬ 
mation, followed by the Thirteenth Amendment, conferred 
freedom upon four million slaves. In 1868 the Fourteenth 
Amendment made the freed Negroes citizens of the United 
States, and in 1870 the Fifteenth Amendment enfranchised 
them. Largely as the result of these measures, the problem 
of the slave developed into the present Negro problem. The 
racial differences between the white and the Negro, as well 
as the demoralizing effects of slavery, promised to render 
difficult his adjustment to American life. The situation was 
made more serious by the suddenness of emancipation, and 
by the fact that the vote was extended to the Negroes before 
most of them were ready for it. The economic, social, and 
political upheaval effected in the South by the war, together 
with the bitterness with which many southern white men re¬ 
garded the freedmen, also contributed to the difficulty of the 

226 


THE NEGRO 227 

situation. Lastly, he became a problem because of the lack 
of a national program in his behalf. 

Number and distribution. — In 1930 the census gave 
11,891,143 as the Negro population of the United States. 
According to these figures it constitutes slightly less than 
one tenth of our total population. About eighty per cent 
of them live in the South. In the state of Mississippi the 
Negroes exceed the whites by a few thousand, while in sev¬ 
eral other southern states they constitute from one fourth 
to one half the total population. 

Nearly 6,700,000 or 56.3 per cent of the Negroes live in 
rural districts. There is, however, an important migratory 
movement which operates to decrease this percentage. There 
is a growing tendency for southern Negroes to leave the rural 
districts and to move cityward. Chiefly because of the 
economic attractions of urban life, many rural Negroes are 
moving toward the southern city. In search of social equality 
as well as greater economic opportunities, many southern 
Negroes are migrating to the cities of the North. For ex¬ 
ample, in 1920 Detroit had a Negro population of 40,838, 
which grew to 120,066 by 1930; within the same period 
Cleveland’s Negro population grew from 34,451 to 71,899; 
Los Angeles’s from 15,579 to 38,894; and New York’s from 
152,467 to 327,706. 

Adaptability of the Negro. — From one important angle, 
civilization is the process of getting along with one’s en¬ 
vironment, partly by changing that environment, and partly 
by adapting one’s self to external conditions. An important 
characteristic of the Negro, not usually taken into account, 
is his adaptability. Ours is predominantly a white man’s 
civilization, and we are accustomed to think of the Negro as 
an individual who finds it more or less difficult to fit into our 
way of living. And yet one reason for believing that he has 
a capacity for modern civilization is that he has survived 
until the present time. Compare him in this regard with the 
American Indian, who, despite his many noble traits, has 
fared poorly under the white man’s civilization. The In- 


228 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


dians of Cuba, for example, were so proud and unbending 
that they died out under the slavery which the early Spanish 
imposed upon them; the Negro, because of his teachableness 
and his passive strength, not only survived slavery, but has 
weathered freedom under very disadvantageous circum¬ 
stances. 

Progress since the Civil War. — The Negro has made 
considerable progress since the Civil War. Many of them 
have become independent farmers and artisans, owning a 
considerable amount of property. Despite the backwardness 
of Negro schools, great progress has been made in the matter 
of decreasing Negro illiteracy. Whereas at the close of the 
Civil War some ninety per cent of the Negroes were illiterate, 
only 16.3 per cent of our present Negro population is illiter¬ 
ate. In art, literature and science the Negro has already 
made a tolerable showing. Altogether it is likely that an 
able and constructive leadership is being developed among 
the Negroes. 

Present economic condition. — In spite of the substantial 
progress made since the Civil War, however, the present 
economic condition of the Negro is unsatisfactory. The great 
majority of that race are unskilled laborers of a shiftless dis¬ 
position. Because he is frequently neither a dependable nor 
an efficient worker, the average Negro tends to receive low 
wages. He is not skilled in manufacturing or mechanical 
lines, and he is kept out of the higher trades and professions 
by reason of illiteracy and social barriers. Very often the 
southern Negro is a tenant farmer, carelessly tilling a small 
plot of land and mortgaging his crop in order to secure the 
bare necessaries of life. Large families, inadequately sup¬ 
ported, and reared under insanitary living conditions, are 
characteristic of the southern Negro. The failure to save 
money, and the inability to protect themselves against ex¬ 
ploitation by unscrupulous white men are characteristic 
weaknesses of many Negroes. 

Present social condition. — Because of his lack of training 
and experience the Negro allows unscrupulous persons to 


THE NEGRO 


229 


swindle and exploit him. Because of a variety of conditions 
he furnishes an abnormally large proportion of our prison 
population. Whether or not this is partly the result of racial 
characteristics, it is certain that the bad economic and social 
conditions surrounding Negro life lead to a high degree of 
criminality. In justice to him it should be noted that in 
many communities he is apprehended and convicted more 
often than is the white culprit. Acts which would go un¬ 
punished or even unnoticed if committed by white men often 
arouse the community and lead to severe punishment when 
committed by Negroes. Statistics on Negro crime are also 
influenced by the fact that the poverty of the Negro often 
causes him to go to jail while the white offender escapes with 
a fine. 

A serious evil is race mixture between Negroes and whites. 
This has gone on since colonial times, until at the present 
time probably more than half of the Negroes in the United 
States have some degree of white blood. Such mixtures, 
while probably not disastrous from the standpoint of biology, 
have unfortunate consequences socially. Generally the mu¬ 
latto offspring are forced to remain members of the Negro 
group, where they are subjected to social surroundings which 
too often encourage disease, vice, and degeneracy. The ma¬ 
jority of the states now have laws forbidding marriage be¬ 
tween Negroes and whites. Both white and Negro leaders 
agree that race mixture is unfortunate. 

Present political condition. — The Fifteenth Amendment 
declared that “the right of citizens of the United States to 
vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or 
by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition 
of servitude.” Yet in many states the Negro is barred from 
the polls. In many northern cities where the Negro is al¬ 
lowed the ballot, his ignorance and irresponsibility make 
him the prey of political ‘‘ bosses ’ ’ who control his vote. The 
question of Negro suffrage will be treated later; here we 
may content ourselves with noting that the Negro’s right to 
vote is often restricted. In the South, at least, it is also true 


230 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


that the Negro has but little share either in making the laws 
or in administering them. 

Urgent nature of the Negro problem. — The Negro prob¬ 
lem was never of more pressing importance than it is today. 
Illiteracy is still perilously high. Negro crime is becoming 
more serious, and the drift to the city is increasing his suscep¬ 
tibility to disease and vice. In spite of prohibitive laws, 
racial intermixture is continuing, and the problem of the 
mixed blood is becoming more and more acute. Social unrest 
among the masses of southern Negroes is increasing. The 
World War created new aims and aspirations among thou¬ 
sands of Negroes. New leaders are arising to preach racial 
equality for them; old leaders are in many cases becoming 
more impatient with the attitude of the white population. 
Since 1885, 3,248 negroes have been lynched, although the 
annual number has grown constantly less, reaching the low 
mark of only seven in 1929. 

Hesitancy in attacking the problem. — The American 
people have been singularly backward about grappling with 
the problem of fitting millions of Negro citizens into the 
fabric of American democracy. One explanation of this 
backwardness is that until recently many have believed that 
he would die out under freedom. This expectation has not 
been realized, for while the Negro population is increasing 
less rapidly than is the white population, it is nevertheless 
increasing. The Negro is not dying out. Nor can he be 
deported to Liberia or other colonies, as was often suggested 
in the last century. He is here to stay, and his problems 
must be solved. 

Need of a consistent program. — Many institutions and 
individuals have attacked various phases of the Negro prob¬ 
lem with courage and success, but we are in need of a unified 
and comprehensive program rather than of a series of unre¬ 
lated endeavors. Above all what is needed is not impas¬ 
sioned opinion or cure-all schemes, but rather the development 
of a sound and comprehensive program which shall attack 
the problem from a number of angles at the same time. 


THE NEGRO 


231 


Such a program must have a double end in view: first, the 
immediate needs of the Negro must be met; second, we must 
permit him to be trained toward a position in which he will 
be able to play a useful and honorable role in our national 
life. Thus the great comprehensive purpose of this program 
is to help the Negro adapt himself to American life, to aid 
him in fitting in with our economic, social, and political 
institutions, and to encourage him to contribute to the de¬ 
velopment of American culture to the best of his ability. 

Education. — Education is the most important element 
of any program designed to help the Negro. Ability to read 
and write, the habit of study, training in correct thinking, all 
are of such basic value that it is difficult to understand why 
we have so long neglected the education of the Negro. We 
spend three or four times as much for the education of the 
white child per capita as for the education of the Negro 
child. Their schools are sparsely distributed; they are 
poorly equipped, and they are sadly hampered by lack of 
competent teachers. Clearly we must spend vast sums on 
Negro education, if we are to expect marked improvement 
in the Negro’s social and economic condition. We cannot 
expect him to cease being a problem until he has been 
trained in the fundamentals of citizenship. “The inadequate 
provision for the education of the Negro,” says the Southern 
University Race Commission, “is more than an injustice to 
him; it is an injury to the white man. The South cannot 
realize its destiny if one third of its population is undeveloped 
and inefficient.” 

There is considerable evidence that the Negro is making 
rapid progress along educational lines. Negro illiteracy de¬ 
creased from 22.9 per cent in 1920 to 16.3 per cent in 1930. 
In the latter year 96.5 per cent of native white children be¬ 
tween seven and thirteen years of age were attending school 
and 87.3 per cent of the Negro children of the same age were 
also in school. Unfortunately the percentage of Negro chil¬ 
dren attending school falls rapidly beyond the age of thir¬ 
teen. A notable example of a Negro school is that of the 


232 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


Industrial High School in Birmingham, Alabama. This com¬ 
pletely equipped school has an enrollment of nearly three 
thousand and furnishes instruction in all of the subjects 
usually taught in our large city high schools. The South is 
providing better facilities for the Negroes. 

Economic adjustment. — The Negro cannot be expected 
to become a thrifty, responsible citizen until he is rendered 
capable of earning a decent living at productive work. He 
must acquire the habit of working steadily and efficiently un¬ 
der a system of free contract. This economic readjustment, 
many students of the Negro problem believe, will be attained 
largely through industrial education. We already have sev¬ 
eral excellent industrial training schools for Negroes, includ¬ 
ing Hampton and Tuskegee. The latter was made famous 
by Booker T. Washington, an ex-slave who devoted his life 
to the economic readjustment of his people. 

A great deal more must be done in this direction. In spite 
of the excellent beginnings made at Hampton and Tuskegee, 
not more than one per cent of our Negroes have the privilege 
of industrial education. More adequate instruction is needed 
in methods of agriculture and stock raising, in the various 
crafts, and in those professions for which the Negro seems 
fitted. 

The need for cooperation. — No permanent solution of 
the Negro’s difficulties can be attained without the friendly 
cooperation of all parties concerned. While most of the 
Negroes live in the South, the problem is no more purely 
southern than Japanese immigration is a purely Californian 
problem. We are one nation, and the problems of one section 
are the problems of the whole. The South must not be left 
alone, either to neglect the Negro, or to struggle with his 
difficulties as best she can. Generous aid must be extended 
her by the North, East, and West, before we can expect a 
solution of the Negro question. 

Furthermore, there must be cooperation between the lead¬ 
ers of the Negro and white races, otherwise energy will be 
wasted and inter-racial bitterness created. Very promising 


THE NEGRO 


233 


beginnings in this direction have recently been made in the 
South. Nevertheless it is to be regretted that many leaders, 
both white and Negro, are still prone to propose “remedies” 
for the Negro problem which serve their own interests, but 
which show little or no regard for the rights of the other 
group, or for the welfare of the nation. 

Above all, there must be a firm resolve to work toward a 
fair solution, and an earnest desire to be just and humane. 
Hard and unpleasant facts cannot be argued away, but at 
least they can be treated rationally. No solution can be 
reached except through law and order. Neither violence nor 
deceit can solve this or any other problem. Race riots and 
lynchings are proof that those who engage in them are unfit 
to carry on the work of American democracy. 

The promise of the Negro. — There is a good deal of dis¬ 
cussion as to whether or not the Negro race is merely back¬ 
ward, or whether it is an inferior race. Those contending that 
the Negro is only backward believe that ultimately he can be 
fitted into the fabric of American life; those insisting that he 
is inferior declare that all attempts to adapt the Negro to 
American life will prove unavailing. 

Academic discussions of this sort are not to the point. As 
to whether or not the Negro is backward or inferior, and as to 
precisely what each of these terms implies, there must always 
be a good deal of dispute. For practical purposes it is enough 
to admit that the Negro apparently cannot now do some of 
the things which the average white man can do, and that in so 
far as this is true, the Negro may be less effective as a citizen. 

At the same time, it should be frankly recognized that the 
Negro has shown himself capable of substantial progress. It 
will be more appropriate to discuss the inferiority of the 
Negro when he has failed to react to the most comprehensive, 
intelligent, and consistent program which we are able to 
draw up. This we have not yet done, and until it is done, we 
shall have less cause to deny to the Negro a capacity for 
civilization than the Negro will have cause to complain of 
our unhelpful attitude toward him. So far as we now know, 


234 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


there is no scientific justification for believing that the masses 
of American Negroes cannot ultimately be trained to a useful 
sphere in American life. 

Activities and References 
Significant Words and Phrases 

Negro, slave trade, Emancipation Proclamation, Thirteenth Amendment, 
Fourteenth Amendment, Fifteenth Amendment, mulatto, Liberia, northward 
migration, lynching, Tuskegee, Negro illiteracy. 

Questions 

1. Why were Negroes brought to America? 

2. When did the Negro problem in America come into existence? 

3. What proportion of our population is Negro? 

4. How is the Negro population distributed? 

5. What motives are causing many Negroes to move to the cities? 

6. What is meant by saying that the Negro is adaptable? 

7. In what particulars has the Negro made progress since the Civil War? 

8. What is the present economic condition of the Negro? 

9. What conditions laid upon the Negro in slavery days still have their 

effects upon him? 

10. Why is the social condition of the Negro unsatisfactory? 

11. What proportion of the Negroes are partly white? 

12. What is the present political condition of the Negro? Why? 

13. Why is the Negro problem of pressing importance to the whole nation? 

14. Is the Negro population increasing or decreasing? How does this affect 

the Negro problem? 

15. Where is Liberia? Why is it not a solution for our Negro problem? 

16. What two major aims must be kept in mind in formulating any success¬ 

ful program to meet the Negro problem? 

17. What has been our attitude toward Negro education? How has this 

reacted on the whites? 

18. What should be the fundamentals in Negro as well as in white 

education? r 

19. What evidences have we of recent gains in the Negro educational 

situation? 

20. Why is the economic adjustment of the Negro important? How much 

has been definitely done to help achieve it? 

21. Is it correct to say that the Negro lacks capacity for civilization? 

22. Name some Negroes who have made contributions in literary, artistic, 

and educational lines. 


THE NEGRO 


235 


Problems 

1. Problem: To learn about higher institutions for Negroes. Method: 
Use the Reader's Guide to articles and consult encyclopedias about 
Tuskegee Institute, Hampton Institute, and Fisk University. Make a 
comparison of these institutions with colleges that you know, in equip¬ 
ment, in number of students, and in quality of work. 

2. Problem: To appreciate the results of slavery. Method: Read and 
report a summary to the class of Booker T. Washington’s Up From 
Slavery. 

3. Problem: To learn about some prominent Negroes. Method: Consult 
encyclopedias, yearbooks, and magazine articles for information about 
W. E. B. Du Bois, Claude McKay, Robert M. Moton, James Weldon 
Johnson, and Paul Robeson. A great Negro poet, now dead, was Paul 
Laurence Dunbar. 

4. Problem: To learn what trades Negroes enter. Method: Using Wil¬ 
liamson, Readings in American Democracy , 295-297, report to class 
the ten trades in which Negroes engage in considerable numbers. 


References 

Arnold, Problems in American Life 
Brawley, Short History of the American Negro 
Dow, Social Problems of Today (especially good) 
Negro Yearbook (Tuskegee Institute) 
Williamson, Readings in American Democracy 


CHAPTER XXI 


DEPENDENCY 

Meaning. — There are varying degreesof dependency, from 
temporary shortage of necessaries to abject and continued 
poverty. Just as there is no clearly deft^ed^bo^dary be¬ 
tween necessaries and luxuries, so there is no exact line 
separating very poor people from poverty-stricken people. 
In spite of this difficulty, however, poverty may be defined as 
that stage in which one is unable to obtain the absolute neces¬ 
saries. Not all poverty leads to pauperism , which may be 
defined as that stage in which one must depentt^pt least to some 
extent , upon public charity. The term dependency is used to 
characterize all classes who are in need of relief. A brief re¬ 
view of historical developments along this line will enable 
us to view this problem with the necessary perspective. 

The medieval neighborhood. — Throughout the earlier 
part of the medieval period the majority of the common 
people of western Europe lived in small agricultural com¬ 
munities. There was little in the way of trade or travel, for 
the area comprising the village or the feudal manor was 
relatively self-sufficing. The interests of the people centered 
almost wholly about the local neighborhood into which they 
had been born, and in which they lived and died. Life was 
stable, and the daily work of the peasants entailed few 
hazards. When, because of illness or accident, individuals 
were temporarily unable to support themselves, informal aid 
was extended them by neighbors and friends. In case of a 
more serious dependency, growing out of physical or mental 
defect, for example, the aid extended by neighbors might be 
supplemented by help from the feudal lord. The few stran- 

236 


DEPENDENCY 237 

gers in the community found the monasteries always open to 
them, regardless of the character of their need. 

Breakdown of the medieval neighborhood. — During the 
latter half of the medieval period, and during the earlier 
part of the modern period, a number of factors combined to 
break down this early type of neighborhood. The Crusades, 
the decay of feudalism, and the Renaissance disrupted the 
stable, isolated, and self-sufficing life of the medieval neigh¬ 
borhood. The discovery of America and the growth of towns 
and cities stimulated trade and travel. People moved about 
more, strangers came into the community, family contacts 
and friendships were broken, and community life became 
more impersonal. 

For many people a change of habitation or of occupation 
increased the hazards of life, while the decline of the neighbor¬ 
hood spirit made informal aid by neighbors and friends less 
available. To meet the growing needs of the dependent 
classes, the Church extended and improved its system of 
almsgiving. To a greater extent than ever before the mon¬ 
asteries became havens of refuge for the helpless and friend¬ 
less. The clergy not only themselves dispensed alms, but 
encouraged the wealthy laity to do likewise. 

Unfortunately, however, the aim of almsgiving in this 
period was not so much to help the dependent back to self- 
support, as to increase the piety of the individual dispensing 
the alms. Pauperism was looked upon as inevitable, and the 
moral effect upon the giver was generally of more importance 
than was the use that the needy made of the alms received. 

Rise of the urban neighborhood. — The breakdown of 
the medieval neighborhood was completed by the Industrial 
Revolution. The factory system drew large numbers of 
countrymen to the cities. Here they worked long hours in 
insanitary work-shops, and lived in crowded tenements de¬ 
void of many improvements which we now regard as necessary 
to health and comfort. Home life was disrupted, and neigh¬ 
borhood ties were broken in the process of adjusting agricul¬ 
tural laborers to the factory system. The medieval neighbor- 


238 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


hood began to be supplanted by a new type of neighborhood, 
one primarily urban and impersonal in character. This new 
type of neighborhood brought with it greater hazards for the 
poor, and at the same time offered fewer opportunitites for 
mutual aid between neighbors. Under such circumstances, 
the problem of dependency became increasingly serious. 

Similar changes in America. — In colonial days people 
were bound together by the natural ties of mutual helpful¬ 
ness. Cooperation was necessary in building a log cabin, 
in clearing the land, and in fighting the Indians. Friendly 
neighbors were willing to help a sick or needy friend. This 
spirit of neighborly helpfulness persisted on the frontier and 
fortunately still exists in many communities, but the growth 
of cities has tended to lessen it. 

The growth of industry with its irregular demands for 
workers has increased the number who need assistance. The 
problem is complicated by the crowded conditions in our 
cities and by the fact that food supplies must be transported 
from distant places. This very separation of persons who 
are yet intimately dependent upon each other has lessened 
the realization of their mutual obligations. In spite of the 
great improvements in production we have not solved the 
problem of caring for the human factor. When there is a 
surplus of food and starving persons within the same coun¬ 
try, we are face to face with a condition that calls for 
remedy. 

Dependency in the United States. — One of the vital 
problems of American democracy is the proper care of those 
individuals who are unable to support themselves. The 
extent to which individuals are dependent for help upon 
agencies outside their family circle is unknown. Statistics 
are meager, and the complex nature of dependency renders it 
difficult of measurement. Perhaps a reasonable estimate of 
dependency in the United States is that at some time during 
the year about five per cent of the population seeks charitable 
assistance. The total amount expended annually for the care 
of the dependent classes in the United States is usually more 


DEPENDENCY 


239 


than half a billion dollars, and during the years 1930-32 it 
amounted to far more than that sum. 

Causes of dependency. — It is difficult even to list the 
causes of dependency and still more difficult to analyze them. 
Generally the applicant for charity is not in a state of de¬ 
pendency because of a single isolated cause, but because of a 
number of combined causes, interlocking in a most confusing 
way. In the effort to throw light upon this tangled situation, 
let us briefly survey the problem from the economic, social, 
personal, and political viewpoints. 

From the economic viewpoint much dependency is the 
result of maladjustments in industry. Most laborers have 
little or no savings, so that when unemployment, strikes, in¬ 
dustrial accidents, or other crises interrupt their earnings, 
they are often forced to fall back upon charity. Economic 
causes figure in from fifty to eighty per cent of charity cases, 
either as minor or major factors. In the majority of these 
cases the unemployment or other handicap of the laborer is 
due to industrial maladjustments beyond his power to control. 

Closely connected with the economic causes of dependency 
are the social causes. The crowding of large numbers of 
workmen into cities leads to abnormal living conditions, 
which encourage ill-health, disease, and vice. Among un¬ 
skilled laborers, poverty and the large number of children 
often prevent the young from securing a helpful amount of 
training. The lack of wholesome and inexpensive recrea¬ 
tion and the existence of costly and injurious forms of 
entertainment encourage unwise expenditure of savings. 
Child labor and the employment of mothers in industry 
prevent a normal family life, and may be intimately asso¬ 
ciated with illiteracy, low moral standards, and pauperism. 

Often indistinguishable from social causes are the personal 
causes of dependency. Laziness, irresponsibility, and thrift¬ 
lessness figure in from ten to fifteen per cent of charity cases. 
Penniless old age is often the outcome of bad personal habits 
in youth and middle life. Idling, gambling, and other vicious 
habits are important causes of pauperism. Sickness is a 


240 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


factor in at least a third of charity cases, while disease figures 
in seventy-five per cent of such cases. Physical or mental 
defect is of great importance in dependency, often accom¬ 
panying bad personal habits as either cause or effect. The 
feeble-minded, the epileptic, and the insane constitute a 
serious burden upon the community. 

Defects in government have in some cases either encour¬ 
aged dependency, or have perpetuated it. In so far as we 
have neglected legislation designed to reduce the force of 
industrial maladjustments, political factors may be said 
markedly to influence dependency. Our tardiness in pro¬ 
tecting the labor of women and children is certainly responsi¬ 
ble for a share of dependency. Our failure to adopt a com¬ 
prehensive program of social insurance has added to the 
burden upon charity. Housing is receiving more and more 
attention in our cities, yet the living quarters in many dis¬ 
tricts continue to be sources of ill-health and vice. Probably 
we shall lessen dependency when we shall have established 
a comprehensive system of state and federal employment 
bureaus. The wise restriction of immigration is also im¬ 
portant, as is the matter of vocational education for the 
unskilled classes. Lastly, war by its enormous and persistent 
costs heaps intolerable burdens upon society. Pensions and 
bonds for past wars and armies, navies, and equipment for 
future wars consume 75 or 80 cents of every dollar collected 
by the national government. What is consumed by war can¬ 
not be consumed again, and society is the poorer. 

The giving of alms. — Until the period of the Reformation 
in Europe, the distribution of alms by the clergy and by 
pious laymen was the chief method of dealing with the prob¬ 
lem of dependency. Then the Reformation crippled the 
temporal power of the Church, and ecclesiastical almsgiving 
declined in importance. The place formerly held by the 
Church was filled, partly by public almshouses or workhouses, 
and partly by indiscriminate and unorganized almsgiving on 
the part of kind-hearted individuals. Individuals distributed 
alms chiefly to dependents with whom they were personally 


DEPENDENCY 


241 


acquainted, and whose needs could be effectively met without 
their being removed to an institution. Wandering depend¬ 
ents, and unfortunates whose needs were relatively serious 
and permanent, were cared for in the almshouse. This latter 
institution developed very early in England and appeared 
in colonial America in the seventeenth century. Until about 
1850 it was often the only institution in American communi¬ 
ties which cared for the helpless adult dependent. The alms¬ 
house, as it existed in this country a few decades ago, has 
been described as a charitable catch-all, into which were 
crowded paupers, the insane, the feeble-minded, the blind, 
the orphaned, and other types of dependents. 

Almsgiving proves inadequate. — The attempt to meet 
the problem of modern dependency solely by the giving of 
alms illustrates the difficulty of employing an ancient and 
simple method of treatment for a disease which has become 
highly complex. 

Almsgiving by individuals very often pauperizes rather 
than helps the dependent to help himself. When the dom¬ 
inant aim of the almsgiver is to satisfy himself as to his piety, 
it is only by accident that the alms really help the recipient. 
Very often what is needed is not money or material aid in 
other form, but wise direction and friendly advice. There is 
still a great deal of unwise and indiscriminate almsgiving by 
individuals, but the spread of new ideals of social help is 
probably cutting down the amount. 

The almshouse, as it existed in the last century, was pro¬ 
ductive of much evil. Very often superintendents were al¬ 
lowed to run these institutions for personal profit, a practice 
which permitted the exploitation and neglect of the inmates. 
The practice of herding into this generalized institution every 
variety of dependent had great drawbacks. Specialized care 
and treatment were impossible. Disease was transmitted, 
and vice encouraged, by the failure properly to segregate 
various types of dependents. Inmates were in many cases 
allowed to enter and leave the institution at will, a privilege 
which encouraged shiftlessness and improvidence. 


242 PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 

The evolution of new ideals. — After the middle of the 
last century our attitude toward the dependent classes began 
to change rapidly. There was a gradual abandonment of 
almsgiving as the sole method of attacking dependency. 
Rising standards of conduct contributed to the development 
of new ideals, some of them now fairly well established, and 
some of them still in the formative process. The general con¬ 
tent of these new ideals may be briefly described as follows. 

The primary aim of those who come in contact with the 
dependent classes should be to help those classes rather than 
to satisfy pious aspirations or to indulge sentimental prompt¬ 
ings. Rather than believing that alms are helpful because 
they are gratefully received, we should first discover what 
will help the dependent, and then train ourselves and him to 
take satisfaction in that which is helpful. 

Poverty is not to be taken for granted. It is neither inevi¬ 
table nor irremedial. It is a social disease which we must 
attack with the aim of destroying. 

When individuals are found in an emergency they should be 
given relief, regardless of personal merit. * The extension of 
relief in case of fire, flood, or other accident is only an act of 
humanity. 

A different and more productive form of help is remedial 
work. This type of work often accompanies and follows re¬ 
lief work. It is corrective; for example, the finding of em¬ 
ployment for a friendless man or the medical treatment of a 
sick man is remedial work. 

A still higher form of social work is preventive. Hand in 
hand with the giving of work to friendless men and the cur¬ 
ing of sick men we must undertake measures which will 
prevent a recurrence of unemployment and illness. Preven¬ 
tive work is often indirect, but ultimately it is the most im¬ 
portant type of social work. 

Recently there has been a reaction against almsgiving or 
pure charity and a distinct tendency to develop what may be 
called the concept of social service. Charity is too often con¬ 
cerned with the pauper class; social service is a wider term 


A SUMMER CAMP FOR GIRL SCOUTS 
What are some educational values of summer camps? 
















© Keystone View Company 

MEDICAL EXAMINATION OF CHILDREN 
What are some advantages of such examinations? 






DEPENDENCY 


243 


and includes not only what was formerly known as charity, 
but also child welfare, settlement work, folk dancing, and 
other socializing activities which are helpful in a modern 
community, but which have nothing to do with alms. Charity 
too often pauperizes and degrades; social service encourages 
self-help and self-expression in the vital social relations. 
Formerly charity was almost exclusively the function of the 
pious and the sympathetic; the present tendency is for social 
service to become a distinct profession, administered by 
highly trained specialists. 

The stage of specialization. — One of the signs that we 
are recognizing the growing need of an individualized treat¬ 
ment of dependents is the degree to which our social service 
agencies are becoming specialized. The treatment of the de¬ 
pendent may take either an institutional or a non-institu- 
tional form. Let us briefly notice the specialization in each 
of these forms. 

The almshouse, almost universal a century ago, is being 
rapidly displaced by a series of specialized institutions. In 
most states there are now separate institutions for the treat¬ 
ment of the pauperized, the diseased, the blind, the deaf, the 
insane, the feeble-minded, and the otherwise dependent. In¬ 
mates of these institutions are given special treatment by 
experts. When the defect has been remedied, the patient is 
released; in case remedy is impossible, the individual is seg¬ 
regated and accorded humane and sympathetic treatment 
during the rest of his life. This prevents the untold harm of 
releasing defective and irresponsible people into the com¬ 
munity. Institutions of this character are largely under 
state control, and are intended primarily for persons who 
cannot be properly treated in their homes. 

Dependents who are only slightly or temporarily handi¬ 
capped, or who are not in need of special treatment, may be 
best cared for in their homes and by private individuals or 
associations. In this non-institutional form of social service 
there is also a high degree of specialization. The casual 
almsgiver has been succeeded by a whole series of social 


244 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


service agencies. Prisoners’ aid societies, employment bu¬ 
reaus, immigrant aid societies, flower missions, Americaniza¬ 
tion clubs, recreation centers, housing clubs, community 
nursing clubs, and scores of other organizations have sprung 
up. Every large city in the United States has several hundred 
of these organizations, each attacking social problems of a 
special type. 

Necessity of coordination. — Specialization in social serv¬ 
ice has been followed by the development of means of co¬ 
ordinating the various specialized agencies. 

That there is urgent need of such coordination has been 
repeatedly called to our attention. It is still true that often 
the institutions for the dependent classes within a single state 
pursue different methods, and so limit their separate fields 
that many types of dependents are inadequately cared for. 

Among the large number of private agencies there has been 
a great waste of time and energy. The fact that each society 
is independent of its fellows has meant that in some fields of 
social service efforts were duplicated, while other fields were 
neglected. Cases demanding treatment by several agencies 
could not be given adequate care because of the lack of corre¬ 
lation among such agencies. Beggars often imposed upon a 
number of different societies by assuming different names. 
Each society had its own periods of campaigning for funds, 
a practice which meant an excess of tag days and campaigns 
and a waste of time and energy on the part of social workers. 

Coordination of public institutions. — The coordination of 
public institutions for the dependent and defective classes 
proceeded rapidly after 1880. At present the situation in the 
various states is somewhat as follows: 

The actual administration of local institutions is generally 
in the hands of the town or county authorities. Large cities, 
however, often have a system of institutional relief separate 
from that of the county in which they are located. In many 
states the local authorities are subject to some measure of 
central supervision by a state board, which is called by vari¬ 
ous names. In most cases this is merely an advisory board 


DEPENDENCY 


245 


with power to inspect state institutions, and to make recom¬ 
mendations to the governor or state legislature. More 
recently, there is a tendency to go still further, and to re¬ 
organize and consolidate the various state institutions so as 
to bring them directly under the control of a state board or 
commission. In several states the board is already one of 
control, that is to say, it has the power not only to inspect 
the various institutions of the state, but also the power to 
appoint their superintendents, and, in general, to administer 
the institutional relief of the state. 

Coordination of private agencies. — The movement to co¬ 
ordinate social service agencies of a private nature has been 
relatively slow and unsatisfactory. This has been due, 
partly to the large number of societies involved, and partly 
to the lack of any centralized authority to supervise such 
organizations. In some large cities there has been a con¬ 
siderable degree of consolidation among societies which are 
purely charitable, but among the large number of social 
service organizations which are not purely charitable, the 
coordinating process has not gone beyond the functional 
stage. In this stage the various social service agencies of a 
city remain separate and distinct, but may become members 
of a council or federation which serves to coordinate their 
various functions. 

The aim of this functional coordination is to secure the 
greatest degree of cooperation possible without the actual 
amalgamation of the cooperating agencies. Imposition by 
beggars is unlikely, because a clearing house of information 
keeps the various agencies informed as to the work of one 
another. By periodic reference to a centralized system of 
card indices, different societies may keep informed as to what 
types of social work are being duplicated, and as to which 
lines of effort are being neglected. Where the social service 
agencies of a city are thus coordinated, an applicant comes 
to the central agency and is then directed to the organization 
best suited to meet his needs. Such coordinating agencies 
stress the necessity of scientific work which will aid in the 


246 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


adjustment of personal relations and help secure the maxi¬ 
mum of result with the minimum of expenditure. 

These coordinated agencies unite for the purpose of making 
an annual campaign for funds. In 1931 about 274 such 
agencies raised enormous sums for relief. Civic pride as well 
as the realization of need causes a friendly spirit of rivalry 
among cities, and each endeavors to raise the specified sum 
for the community chest or community fund. 

The neighborhood of the future. — The small, stable, and 
relatively unprogressive neighborhood of the early European 
period has disappeared before the important economic, social, 
and political changes of the last five centuries. The typical 
neighborhood of modern times is larger, more inclined to be 
made up of transient and dissimilar types of people, and more 
impersonal. It is more progressive, but more likely to hold 
hazards for the average individual. The whole period since 
the Industrial Revolution has been one of neighborhood re¬ 
adjustment, of which many aspects of the problems of crime, 
the family, and dependency are phases. The new type of 
neighborhood has probably come to stay, but there are indi¬ 
cations that life in the community of the future will prove 
less and less hazardous. The development of professional 
social service, growing out of the charity movement, but now 
embracing community work of every kind, will probably 
lessen the evils of the modern neighborhood, and retain its 
desirable features. 

Activities and References 
Significant Words and Phrases 

Dependency, neighborhood, poverty, necessaries, luxuries, alms, pauperism, 
neighborliness, social service, charity, community chest, mutual obligations. 

Questions 

1. How was aid extended to the needy in the medieval neighborhood? 

2. What factors contributed to the breakdown of the medieval neighbor¬ 

hood? 


DEPENDENCY 247 

3. How did the motive of almsgiving in earlier Europe differ from that of 

today? 

4. What effect did the Industrial Revolution have upon the neighbor¬ 

hood? 

5. Why did the frontier foster neighborliness? 

6. Why do city dwellers tend to feel little personal interest in the needy 

in their communities? 

7. What is the extent of dependency in the United States? 

8. What are the economic and social causes of dependency? 

9. What are the personal causes of dependency? 

10. How may defects in government contribute to dependency? 

11. What is the relation of war to dependency? Directly? Indirectly? 

12. Why is almsgiving inadequate as a method of treating dependency? 

13. What is the nature of social service? 

14. Discuss specialization in social service. 

15. Why is coordination necessary when social service agencies have be¬ 

come highly specialized? 

16. What steps have been taken since 1880 in the coordination of public 

institutions? How far has this proceeded in your state? 

17. Why has coordination of private agencies proved more difficult and 

unsatisfactory than that of public institutions? 

18. How are community drives for charity funds usually handled? 

19. What may be said as to the character of the neighborhood of the future? 

Problems 

1. Problem: To picture a medieval neighborhood. Method: Read W. S. 
Davis, Life on a Medieval Barony. Note particularly the account of 
the peasants. Contrast the “personalness” of the social relations in 
that community with the impersonalness of those in your own. 

2. Problem: To picture frontier neighborliness. Method: Interview some 
older person who can give you examples of the community life on the 
frontier. Make a list of ten interchanges of help or kindnesses. (If 
you cannot find some older person who can give you a first-hand report 
of frontier community life, read, instead, one of the following books: 
Willa Cather’s My Antonia; Hamlin Garland’s Son of the Middle 
Border; O. E. Rolvaag’s Giants in the Earth.) 

3. Problem: To learn the causes of dependency. Method: List the causes 
given in the text. Add any others from other sources. You will find 
some specific cases in Williamson, Readings in American Democracy , 
325-327. 

4. Problem: To understand the difficulties of a solicitor for charity funds. 
Method: Let two students dramatize a conversation between a solicitor 
and a financially able but unwilling citizen. Let each speaker present 
his strongest arguments. 


248 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


References 

Devine, Misery and its Causes 
Dow, Social Problems of Today 
Gillin, Poverty and Dependency 
Shideler, Group Life and Social Problems 
Towne, Social Problems 
Williamson, Introduction to Sociology 
-, Readings in American Democracy 


CHAPTER XXII 


DEFECTIVES 

Types of defectives. — Defectiveness may be divided into 
two kinds, physical and mental. In the first class belong the 
blind and the deaf-mutes. In the second class may be placed 
the feeble-minded, the epileptic, and the insane. We shall 
make a survey of the principal facts concerning these un¬ 
fortunate people and what is being done for them. Such 
preventive measures as are available should be known to 
everyone. 

The blind. — In 1930 there were 63,489 blind persons in 
the United States. The number of men exceeds the women 
by nearly ten thousand, and the total number represents an 
increase of nearly eleven thousand since 1920. There are 
517 blind persons per million of population, and the number 
seems to be about the same among Negroes and in various 
parts of the country. 

Blindness was formerly regarded as an act of Providence 
and little was done to help the afflicted ones. In 1784 
Valentin Haiiy opened the first school for the training of 
the blind. About 1830 Louis Braille devised his system of 
raised dots which enabled blind persons to read and also to 
write, for a mere reversal of the paper enables the person 
to read what is written. Special provision for training the 
blind is made by every state, and the federal government 
helps to support the American Printing House for the Blind. 
It also allows free postage on books to and from the blind, 
so that no matter where he lives the blind person has access 
to a library. 

About two-thirds of the blind become so after the age 
of twenty, a fact that complicates the problem of training. 

249 


250 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


Industrial diseases, accidents, measles, and cataracts are 
causes of blindness, but perhaps the most common single 
cause is a germ that may be present at the time of birth. 
Many states have laws requiring doctors to use a disinfectant, 
such as silver nitrate, to counteract such germs when a child 
is born. 

The blind deserve careful training, both for their own sake 
and for the sake of society. About one fourth of the blind 
are engaged in some gainful occupation. The largest group 
engage in agriculture, and lesser numbers in the professions 
and in various trades. Blind persons make baskets and 
brooms in great numbers, and many seem to have special 
talents in music. 

Everyone should be aware of the simple precautions, such 
as disinfecting the eyes at birth, protecting the eyes in in¬ 
dustry, and avoiding eyestrain. Consultation with ocu¬ 
lists may be necessary in order to take the proper precautions 
in time. Everyone should also be aware of the training and 
assistance which both state and nation stand ready to give 
the blind. 

The deaf-mutes. — In 1930 there were 57,084 deaf-mutes 
in the United States. The number of males exceeds slightly 
the number of females, and the total number represents an 
increase of more than twelve thousand since 1920. There 
are 465 deaf-mutes per million of population, and the number 
seems to be about the same for various parts of the country. 
Apart from deaf-mutism, there are many instances of partial 
or total deafness. Such deafness may be caused by sinus 
trouble, adenoids, meningitis, or other diseases. Nearly forty 
per cent of deaf-mutes are so from birth, and about sixty 
per cent are deaf-mutes before the age of ten. Inability to 
speak is the result of deafness and is not a physical defect. 
The ability to speak is dependent upon hearing other persons 
talk. Even those who learn to talk before becoming deaf 
rapidly lose the ability to speak, when they can no longer 
hear. The causes of deafness at birth are certainly in part 
hereditary, for children of deaf-mutes are six times as likely 


DEFECTIVES 


251 


to be deaf as those of the general population. As yet no 
remedy, save the abstinence from marriage of deaf-mutes, 
has been pointed out. 

Deaf-mutes were largely neglected in the United States 
until 1815, when Thomas H. Gallaudet formed a society for 
their benefit, and opened, two years later, an asylum for 
their care at Hartford, Connecticut. Since that date, numer¬ 
ous schools have been established and great progress has been 
made in methods of teaching. The finger language was 
widely used, but it has been supplemented or entirely re¬ 
placed by the oral method, a system of lip-reading. By 
the latter method great numbers of deaf persons are taught 
to speak. Day schools for the deaf have been established 
in many large cities, and Gallaudet College in Washington, 
D. C., grants the regular college degree to the deaf students 
who meet its requirements. The Volta Bureau of Washington 
publishes a magazine and assists in the education of deaf- 
mutes. 

The deaf-mutes present no great economic problem because 
they can perform many kinds of labor. Many follow the 
regular occupations which are open to ordinary citizens. 

The feeble-minded. — In Chapter XVIII we learned that 
the group having I. Q.’s of 69 or less are classified as feeble¬ 
minded. The whole group is subdivided into three lesser 
groups known as morons, imbeciles, and idiots. Morons, 
the highest type of the feeble-minded, may often do fairly 
creditably in the lower grades of school, and by persistence 
they may even succeed reasonably well in making a living 
in the simpler kinds of work. Imbeciles and idiots are unable 
to succeed and become special problems for society. 

Since feeble-mindedness is a relative term, no one can say 
how many feeble-minded persons there are in the United 
States. It is safe to say, however, that 2,000,000 persons 
would, according to a reasonable interpretation of the term, 
be classed as feeble-minded. Very few morons are in insti¬ 
tutions, and their undeveloped brains cause them to become 
a prey to vicious habits. Consequently many of them are to 


252 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 



(BB pure black; bb pure white; Bb half black and half white) 

Handling the problem of defectives is especially complicated because we have to deal 
not only with environment but also with heredity. We are not yet certain about many of 
the consequences of heredity, but much work has been and is being done on the subject 
by scientists. Still the best known contribution is Mendel’s famous experiment with peas 
from which he formulated his statement about the inheritance of dominant and recessive 
characteristics. This formula has since become known as Mendel’s law. (See Glossary.) 
The above diagram will clarify the illustration (on the next page) of the course of inheritance 
according to Mendel’s law. 
























DEFECTIVES 


253 



Mendel’s Law 

(Drawn by John T. Mega of the South St. Paul (Minnesota) High School and used by the 
courtesy of his teacher, Miss Hazel Fish.) In this illustration the black mice represent the 
dominant and the white mice the recessive characteristics. The relative numbers, black to 
white, indicate the ratio of dominant to recessive. 





























254 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


be found among the criminals. About 60,000 imbeciles and 
idiots are cared for by institutions. 

Most feeble-mindedness is hereditary and is the result 
of an under-developed brain. The famous studies of the 
Kallikak family by Henry H. Goddard present a striking 
picture of the baleful effects of marriage and propagation 
by feeble-minded persons. When one learns that one fourth 
of the paupers, one half of the criminals, one half of the 
immoral, and a large percentage of drunkards are feeble¬ 
minded, he can begin to appreciate the seriousness of the 
problem. 

There is apparently no cure for the feeble-minded. Many 
can be trained to perform simple tasks, but great numbers 
of them belong in institutions, both for their own good and 
as a protection to society. Perhaps future study will un¬ 
cover some possible cures. In the meantime society should 
prevent the feeble-minded from marrying and should pro¬ 
vide humane and considerate treatment. 

The epileptic. — Epilepsy is a disease characterized by 
recurring losses of consciousness, usually accompanied by 
convulsions or other emotional crises. Some epileptics have 
reasonably good physical health and the effects of the dis¬ 
ease are largely mental, often leading to feeble-mindedness 
or insanity. The disease, however, often attacks persons 
of high intelligence. It is essentially hereditary, but no 
clearly marked law of inheritance has been discovered. Epi¬ 
leptics have a very much shorter expectation of life than 
ordinary people. Statistics of epileptics are unobtainable, 
because they are seldom clearly distinguished from the feeble¬ 
minded and the insane. 

The modern treatment for epileptics requires the farm 
colony type of plant where rest, reasonable exercise, and 
freedom from distractions can be found. Nearly every state 
provides such a farm colony, and medical science is giving 
attention to the problem. The epileptics present no such 
problem as the morons, for they are recognizable and public 
opinion sanctions their segregation and treatment. 


DEFECTIVES 


255 


The insane. — Insanity is a mental disease and must be dis¬ 
tinguished carefully from feeble-mindedness. Feeble-mind¬ 
edness is the result of an under-developed brain; whereas 
insanity is a diseased condition that may occur in normally 
developed brains. Even when this distinction has been made, 
we are far from having a definition of insanity. Like feeble¬ 
mindedness it is a relative term. In this discussion, how¬ 
ever, by insanity is meant the mental condition in which a 
person is incapable of normal conduct. 

The insane who are committed to institutions numbered 
272,727 in 1929. The number has grown enormously since 
1880, when there were only 31,973. These numbers, how¬ 
ever, do not necessarily indicate an actual increase; they may 
show simply that society is becoming increasingly aware of 
its obligations. People are now more willing than formerly 
to let their relatives be treated. 

Contrary to popular opinion, insanity is more prevalent 
among laborers than among professional people. For ex¬ 
ample, it is very rare among teachers, a group which under¬ 
goes great nervous strain. 

Insanity is a disease of adults. The causes are partly 
hereditary, but intemperance, immorality, drugs, overwork, 
worry, and disease are important causes. There are various 
forms of insanity, such as mania, in which the afflicted de¬ 
velops dangerous tendencies; melancholia, in which he suffers 
extreme depression; paranoia, in which he has delusions on 
certain subjects; and dementia, a general mental decay. 

The insane were once shamefully mistreated, loaded with 
chains, beaten, and confined in prisons because they were 
supposed to be afflicted by evil spirits. Fortunately humane 
treatment has replaced these barbarous practices. It is now 
very properly regarded as a disease and is treated accord¬ 
ingly. Quiet, rest, wholesome food, and moderate exercise, 
together with simple treatments, such as baths, massages, 
and varied diets are frequently found to be effective. Many 
cases of insanity are curable, and speedy treatment of the 
afflicted is highly desirable. Insanity, in many instances, 


256 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


could be prevented. One of the most important methods 
is the prevention of marriage among those most likely to 
transmit the tendency. 

Early recognition of the symptoms and early commitment 
of the afflicted will reduce the number of hopeless cases. 
Popular sanction on the subject and the cooperation of 
organized agencies will probably enable society to make 
greater progress in solving the problems of insanity. 


Activities and References 
Significant Words and Phrases 

Defectiveness, deaf-mute, hard of hearing, feeble-minded, insanity, moron, 
imbecile, idiot, epileptic, Braille, lip-reading, heredity. 

Questions 

1. What are the two kinds of defectiveness? What classes are there under 

each kind? 

2. How many blind people are there in the United States? 

3. What are the chief causes of blindness? 

4. What are the chief preventive measures possible? 

5. Which of these is especially important in relation to lessening the 

number of cases of blindness? Does your state make this measure 
obligatory? 

6. To what extent are the blind self-supporting? How? 

7. How many deaf-mutes are there in the United States? Explain how 

and why their inability to talk arises from their deafness. 

8. Is deafness hereditary? 

9. Who was Thomas H. Gallaudet? 

10. Who is Helen Keller? 

11. How far are our deaf-mutes self-supporting? 

12. What is the definition of feeble-mindedness? 

13. What classes of feeble-minded are there? 

14. How many feeble-minded are there in the United States? 

15. Why do many morons become criminals? 

16. Why are institutional segregation and intelligent and kindly care of 

the feeble-minded and insane necessary for the safety of society and 
the welfare of the afflicted persons? 

17. Is a moron recognizable by his physical appearance? 

18. How does insanity differ from feeble-mindedness? 


DEFECTIVES 


257 


19. What are the chief types of insanity? 

20. Why is insanity a problem in modern life? 

21. Among what classes of occupations is insanity most prevalent? 

22. What are important causes of insanity? 

23. Why should insanity be regarded as a disease and treated as such? 

How was it formerly regarded? 

24. Can insanity be prevented? Can it be cured? 

25. What is epilepsy? Show that it is not the same as feeble-mindedness. 

26. Can you name any great figures of history who are said to have been 

epileptics? 

27. What are the best remedies for epilepsy? 

Problems 

1. Problem: To trace the development of consideration for the blind. 
Method: From encyclopedias secure the information for reports on 
Valentin Haliy and Louis Braille. 

2. Problem: To learn the nature of a Braille book. Method: Consult the 
encyclopedia under “Braille type.” If there is a blind person in your 
neighborhood, he may be glad to show you an actual book. If you 
have in your community a large library, doubtless it will have one or 
more books in Braille type. Why are such books somewhat larger 
than regular ones? 

3. Problem: To appreciate the economic problems of the blind. Method: 
Find out what industries in your state are maintained by the blind. 
Should people be willing to pay more for an article, such as a broom, 
because it has been made by the blind? 

4. Problem: To consider the proper method for teaching the deaf-mutes. 
Method: Find out the method, sign or lip-reading, which is being em¬ 
ployed at your state institution. (Many well-informed persons disa¬ 
gree; so you may hear an argument if you ask the proper people.) 

5. Problem: To trace the development of methods for teaching the deaf- 
mutes. Method: Make a report on the life of Thomas H. Gallaudet 
and his son Edward Miner Gallaudet. The latter founded the college 
in Washington. 

6. Problem: To study the history of intelligence tests. Method: Consult 
a recent encyclopedia on the subject. (Hint: Your teacher probably 
knows more about this subject than he has told you. Everyone 
knows that tests are indications rather than absolute measuring in¬ 
struments. That is probably the reason your teacher is cautious.) 

7. Problem: To learn what provisions your state makes for the insane. 
Method: Consult your state Blue Book (their color varies from state 
to state, but the Secretary of State at the State Capitol usually fur¬ 
nishes the yearbook upon the request of a teacher), and note the loca¬ 
tion and other facts about the institutions for the care of the insane. 


258 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


References 

Dow, Social Problems of Today 
Finney,' Elementary Sociology 
Gillin, Poverty and Dependency 
Groves, Social Problems and Education 
Shideler, Group Life and Social Problems 
Towne, Social Problems 
Williamson, Introduction to Sociology 




CHAPTER XXIII 


PUBLIC OPINION 

The nature of Public Opinion. — One of the most powerful 
influences in any community is that intangible something 
which we call Public Opinion. Though everyone is familiar 
with it, the term Public Opinion is difficult to define. Public 
Opinion is intimately connected with the opinion of the in¬ 
dividual, and yet is something more than a mere total of 
individual opinions. 

Every man has a set of opinions or beliefs which are charac¬ 
teristic of his native instincts, his home training, and other 
influences which have helped mould his personality. Wher¬ 
ever individuals associate, the opinions of each person affect 
and are affected by the opinions of his fellows. As the result 
of this interaction we think of Public Opinion as being made 
up of a number of different currents, each embodying a view, 
a belief, or a doctrine. Where many individuals support a 
given view with moderate intensity, or where a small group 
feels very intensely upon a given topic, we say that Public 
Opinion has formed. 

Public Opinion may be defined as a definite focus of indi¬ 
vidual opinions which are either numerous or intense enough 
to constitute a recognizable force, and to exert a noticeable 
influence upon the life of the community. 

Importance of Public Opinion. — The solution of any social 
problem, such as those which we have been studying, de¬ 
pends upon an informed and an effective Public Opinion. 
Human nature may not change, but it certainly is suscepti¬ 
ble to Public Opinion. The average individual is more or 
less pliable, and Public Opinion is one of the greatest fac- 

259 


260 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


tors in moulding the character and personality of the indi¬ 
vidual. 

There are those who hold that not much can be done to 
control Public Opinion. There are others who hold that it is 
manufactured deliberately by the press, radio, and various 
agencies of communication. There is an element of truth 
in both viewpoints. Public Opinion is not so responsive 
apparently as an individual, but it can be affected. It is de¬ 
sirable, then, to cultivate enlightened and open-minded atti¬ 
tudes, for progress is possible only when people are willing 
to change their ideas, customs, and laws. 

Public Opinion and law. — It is characteristic of the hu¬ 
man mind that we perceive concrete and tangible things 
more easily than we understand abstract and intangible 
forces. Law is a definite, concrete, almost tangible thing; 
we perceive its outlines, recognize its various forms, and 
understand its nature and significance. But it is less easy 
to understand that law may be only a symptom of Public 
Opinion, only the concrete expression of intangible com¬ 
munity sentiment. There is an interaction between law and 
Public Opinion, but the latter is the more fundamental and 
the more powerful. Public Opinion which is vigorous and 
well-organized may force the enactment of law; on the other 
hand, a law which runs counter to the prevailing state of 
Public Opinion may cease to be effective, because individuals 
will not cooperate in enforcing it. Law half leads, half fol¬ 
lows Public Opinion, and when legislators are skilled in dis¬ 
cerning and influencing the mental attitudes of the people, 
law and Public Opinion pretty well keep pace one with an¬ 
other. 

Public Opinion in a democracy. — The beliefs and opin¬ 
ions of the masses have been an important force even in the 
most absolute of monarchies; in representative democracies 
Public Opinion is even more important. Under a democratic 
form of government the attitude of the masses tends to be 
one of inquiry, self-confidence, and self-expression upon pub¬ 
lic questions. Lord Bryce has pointed out that because 


PUBLIC OPINION 


261 


democracy permits and encourages freedom of discussion, 
Public Opinion in a country like the United States becomes 
much more powerful than in less democratic countries. 

And not only is Public Opinion more powerful in a democ¬ 
racy, but democracy is impossible without the regular exer¬ 
cise of a well-informed and sensible opinion by the majority 
of its citizens. Democracy emphasizes government by the 
people rather than government of the people. Thus if genu¬ 
ine democracy is to be developed and sustained, the people 
must cultivate an attitude of constant vigilance against civic 
indifference. Nominations and elections are focal periods in 
government, but government is a continuous obligation which 
requires constant rather than intermittent attention. Where 
civic interest is neither strong nor consistent, the virtues of 
democracy may be diffused in blind and leaderless wan¬ 
derings. 

Development of Public Opinion. — Even though never 
definitely focused or expressed, the vague beliefs, fancies, 
and prejudices of individuals may influence public affairs 
by causing community leaders to feel that “the people” 
will or will not tolerate a contemplated line of action. 

But the influence exerted will be much greater if the opin¬ 
ions of the individual are definite, and if there is some method 
of clarifying, coordinating, and expressing the opinions of 
groups of individuals upon a given subject. If the opinions 
of the individual are to be definite and concrete, he must 
habitually come in contact with forceful persons and insti¬ 
tutions; if the opinions of various individuals are to be 
coordinated and expressed there must be either physical 
contiguity among people, or else adequate means of trans¬ 
portation and communication. 

We may now consider a few of the forces which serve to 
make definite and to organize the opinions of individuals. 

The home. — Certainly no institution exerts a more power¬ 
ful influence upon the beliefs and opinions of the individual 
than the home. Our basic ideals and traditions pass from 
generation to generation through the continuity of the family 


262 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


life. During the plastic and impressionable period of infancy 
the child is constantly under the influence of the parents. At 
first fashioned largely by the parents, the beliefs and senti¬ 
ments of the growing child are later modified by contact with 
other family members. When children go out to the school, 
the church or the workshop, beliefs and attitudes encountered 
outside the home are weighed in the light of family teachings. 
When young men and young women make homes of their 
own, they in turn imprint upon their children a complex of 
tradition and opinion which is the compromise result of their 
own family training, modified by influences later encountered 
outside the family circle. 

The school. — Supplementing, and in some respects sup¬ 
planting, the influence of the home is the influence of the 
school. While still in the plastic stage the child is given over 
to the moulding influences of teacher and fellow-students. 
New contacts are made, new opinions are encountered, new 
avenues of thought and action are opened to the young and 
growing mind. Of recent years the tendency of the school 
to identify itself more closely with the practical life of the 
community is increasing the power and influence of that 
institution. The school is proving a genuine means of transi¬ 
tion between the relatively localized influence of the home 
and the more widely diffused influences of the community. 

The church. — Closely related to the school as a deter¬ 
minant of opinion is the church. In the early stages of social 
development the home was equally the center of intellectual 
and religious life, but in recent times the church and the 
school have become separate, though related, institutions. 
The child spends more time in school than in the company of 
religious instructors other than his parents, but affiliation 
with the church often continues throughout the life of the 
individual, while the average child leaves school at a rela¬ 
tively early age. From the standpoint of Public Opinion, the 
primary importance of the church is that it exerts a powerful 
influence upon the ideals and conduct of both young and old. 
And as in the case of the school, this influence is being deep- 


PUBLIC OPINION 263 

ened by the increasingly close connection between the church 
and the practical life of the community. 

The theatre. — The theatre is a vital influence in man’s 
aesthetic and emotional life. Drama, opera, comedy, and 
burlesque are variant forms, but they are alike in that they 
influence the audience. In the last decade the moving pic¬ 
ture has greatly increased the power and influence of the 
theatre. The low price of the moving picture brings the 
theatre to millions who formerly were excluded from any 
appreciable degree of theatrical entertainment. The daily 
moving picture attendance of ten million people, the stim¬ 
ulating effect of music, the strong emotional appeal, the 
tender age of many of the audience, and the growing use 
of the moving picture as propaganda, all combine to make 
the film a powerful factor in the formation of Public Opinion. 

The press. — The press is the nervous system of the na¬ 
tion. Supplemented by other means of communication, and 
aided by agencies of transportation, the press coordinates 
individuals not physically contiguous, and thus enables them 
to act in concert. It lets everybody know what everybody 
else is thinking, or at least what they are supposed to be 
thinking. The forms of the printed page are infinitely vari¬ 
ous: daily papers, weeklies, monthlies, pamphlets, and books 
— all of these are numerous and influential. Statesmen, 
teachers, reformers, propagandists, and professional writers 
combine to turn out tons of printed matter a day. Pictures, 
jokes, contests, and stories are resorted to for the purpose 
of attracting attention. Editorials, advertisements, and news 
articles are among the vehicles of expression used. Printed 
matter does not wait for the individual to seek it out, but 
instead it goes to him. In various forms it encounters him 
in the street, stares at him from shop windows and bill¬ 
boards, forces itself upon his attention in the street cars, 
and knocks at the door of his private dwelling. In all its 
forms, it should be remembered, the dominant aim of the 
printed page is to influence the individual, to cause him to 
do something or to refrain from doing something. 


264 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


The radio. — Another factor of recent development in the 
formation of Public Opinion is the radio, which has devel¬ 
oped with remarkable rapidity since the Great War. In 1930 
there were 12,078,345 radio sets, over forty per cent of fami¬ 
lies having one. The radio played a prominent part in the 
presidential campaign of 1928. Great national systems give 
programs to all parts of the country. One can turn on a radio 
at any hour and hear programs of varied kinds and qualities. 
Symphony concerts, educational programs, political speeches, 
children’s stories, dramas, in fact, all kinds of entertainment 
are provided. In February, 1932, for example, delegates to 
the disarmament conference at Geneva spoke to the whole 
radio world. Many advertising speeches and some unworthy 
presentations also occupy radio time. The radio has become, 
for good or ill, one of the great avenues of Public Opinion. 

Growing importance of Public Opinion. — Despite the vol¬ 
ume of European immigration to this country, American 
ideals and institutions are rendering our population more and 
more homogeneous, and thus more open to unifying influ¬ 
ences. The increasing ease of transportation and communi¬ 
cation is everywhere making isolation more difficult. Not 
only are the school, the church, the press, and the theatre 
widening in scope and increasing in influence, but new forms 
of expression are developing. There is a growing num¬ 
ber of private organizations advocating social, economic, or 
political reforms. The popularization of psychology has en¬ 
couraged the rise of innumerable forms of propaganda de¬ 
signed to influence the opinions of the community and nation. 
Occupational and social groups are everywhere organizing, 
clarifying their opinions, and expressing common principles 
in the effort to influence the public mind. All of these factors 
combine to increase the importance of Public Opinion in 
present-day American life. 

Dangers of unregulated Public Opinion. — The growing 
power of Public Opinion brings with it increased possibilities 
for good, but also increased possibilities for evil. In an im¬ 
portant sense, this is the age of the propagandist, the crank 


PUBLIC OPINION 


265 


reformer, and the subsidized newspaper, the age of the agi¬ 
tator who spreads lies through anonymous letters, unsigned 
posters, and irresponsible whisperings. The individual must 
be constantly on his guard against this flood; he must recog¬ 
nize that Public Opinion is often capricious, and that a sud¬ 
den hysteria may inflict untold injury. The morality of a 
mob is inferior to the morality of the individuals compos¬ 
ing the mob, because in a mob the sense of power is domi¬ 
nant and the sense of responsibility is suppressed. Properly 
speaking a mob depends upon physical contiguity, but the co¬ 
ordinating influence of rapid transportation and communi¬ 
cation may create a mob spirit between individuals not 
physically in contact. When propaganda lashes into a pas¬ 
sion groups of people in widely separated areas, democracy 
becomes the most dangerous of all forms of government: 
there is no sure hand upon the helm, the people control en 
masse , in a burst of passion they may lay waste the social 
heritage of centuries. 

Freedom a partial safeguard against unsound Public Opin¬ 
ion. — While democracy facilitates the creation of the mob 
spirit, it likewise carries within itself at least a partial remedy 
for unsound Public Opinion. Men’s opinions are infinitely 
various: the same community that produces the fanatic or 
the impractical idealist generally produces sensible and prac¬ 
tical men as well. In politics men everywhere tend to divide 
into a radical group and a conservative group, between which 
control of the government oscillates. 

Where freedom of expression is permitted, the existence of 
these two antagonistic camps is automatically a safeguard 
of the public welfare. Any one of a number of groups of 
people might ruin the country if left to themselves. But they 
are not left to themselves. Their opponents are constantly 
criticizing and checking them. When cranks launch prop¬ 
aganda, conservative critics launch counter-propaganda; 
when special interests attempt to influence the public mind, 
public-spirited individuals or organizations force both sides 
of the question before the public. When public officials neg- 


266 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


lect their duties, a thousand discerning men are ready to 
shout the fact from the housetops. Though the majority 
party secures control of government, the minority is never 
idle. Rather, it is constantly watching, waiting, marshaling 
opinion against the majority, calling public attention to the 
mistakes of their opponents, and agitating for a change of 
administration. 

The guidance of Public Opinion. — Let us briefly consider 
the question of guiding or directing the formulation of sound 
Public Opinion. In a free country, such guidance may some¬ 
times prove dangerous, and yet careful direction of the formu¬ 
lation of Public Opinion is justified by two facts: First, 
the formulation of sound opinion is retarded by the great 
difficulty of securing adequate information on the great 
problems of modern civilization. Here the individual needs 
some help. Second, everyone who can distinguish between 
license and liberty must agree that we should limit the 
influence of individuals and institutions which suppress 
minority opinion and distort facts in the effort to pervert 
Public Opinion. 

These considerations suggest two distinct lines of action. 

First, we can aid in the formulation of sound opinion by 
making it easier for the individual to secure data and infor¬ 
mation on current topics. The extension and perfection of 
the postal service, the improvement of our system of trans¬ 
portation, improved radio programs, the spread of the school 
and library, and possibly the free distribution of literature 
dealing with the nature and functions of government — 
these and similar measures would prove helpful. 

Second, law and moral education ought to cooperate in 
suppressing influences which seek deliberately to poison or 
pervert the public mind. Free speech is a priceless element 
in democracy, but just as we must harmonize individual 
liberty with the interests of the group, so we must prevent 
the use of free speech for criminal purposes. Especially 
ought the press and the school to be encouraged to give both 
sides of debatable questions. Every agency dealing with the 


PUBLIC OPINION 


267 


issues of American life, indeed, ought to be careful not to 
distort those issues by suppressing or misusing facts. Above 
all, we must be careful not to pander to low ideals by em¬ 
phasizing the negative and destructive side of our problems. 

Responsibility of the individual. — A progressive civiliza¬ 
tion confers more and more benefits upon the individual, 
but his duties and responsibilities increase with equal speed. 
As Theodore Roosevelt once said, “It is not difficult to be 
virtuous in a cloistered and negative way,” but honestly and 
effectively to fulfill the obligations of citizenship in a complex 
society is less easy. And yet the need of individual responsi¬ 
bility is infinitely greater in a modern community than among 
the members of an isolated and self-sufficient group. When 
small isolated villages were the dominant form of American 
settlement, the laxness of one group did not vitally affect the 
welfare of other groups. But so entwined are the present-day 
citizens of the United States that the acts of one individual 
may vitally affect the national well-being. The carelessness 
of a food canner on the Pacific coast may cost the life of a 
family on the Atlantic seaboard; a swindle originating in the 
East may demoralize individuals throughout the country. 
The obligations of citizenship have become national as well 
as local; in thought and in action the individual must func¬ 
tion, not only in terms of his locality, but in terms of the 
nation as well. 

The power of the individual. — Measuring himself against 
more than a hundred million of his fellows, the average 
American citizen is likely to be overpowered by the apparent 
futility and powerlessness of his personal opinions. And yet 
the power of the nation is only the result of the combined 
influences of its individual citizens. All power is with the 
individual. However much the absolute monarchy may have 
suppressed the individual, in a democracy he 6an become a 
vital force in government. We are too fond of taking cen¬ 
suses on the one hand, and of deferring to governmental 
mechanisms on the other. The individual is master of his 
fate, and he is the ultimate determinant of government. 


268 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


If government is sound, the misbehavior of the individual 
can ruin it; if government is defective, the assumption of 
responsibility by the individual must ultimately reform it. 
We do not need a fool-proof government half as much as we 
need active, responsible individuals to run the government 
we already have. “How long will American democracy 
last?” a European statesman once asked. “Just so long,” 
the answer might have been, “as Americans honestly and 
intelligently grapple with the problems confronting them, 
holding themselves individually responsible for the conduct 
of government, and seeking consistently to exert an influence 
upon their community life which shall be constructive and 
inspirational.” 


Activities and References 
Significant Words and Phrases 

Public Opinion, democracy, plastic period, propaganda, free speech, ab¬ 
stract, concrete, freedom of discussion, intermittent . 

Questions 


1. Define public opinion. 

2. Why is it desirable to cultivate enlightened and open-minded attitudes? 

3. What is the relation of public opinion to law? 

4. What is the importance of public opinion in a democracy? 

5. Name five agencies in the formation of public opinion. 

6. Why is discussion necessary in the formation of clear and reasonable 

opinions? 

7. Of what importance is the home in influencing the beliefs and opinions 

of the individual? 

8. How does the school affect the opinions of individuals? 

9. Explain the statement, “The school is a transition between the 

relatively localized influence of the home and the more widely 
diffused influences of the community.” 

10. How does the church differ from the school in influencing public 

opinion? 

11. How does the theater influence public opinion? 

12. What is the relation of the press to public opinion? 

13. What recent invention is important in the formation of public opinion? 

14. What are the dangers of unregulated public opinion? 


PUBLIC OPINION 


269 


15. In what way is freedom a safeguard against unsound public opinion? 

16. Explain the following statement: “A progressive civilization confers 

more and more benefits upon the individual, but his duties and 
responsibilities increase with equal speed.” 

17. Of what importance is the individual in a democracy? 

Problems 

1. Problem: To consider the influence of newspapers. Method: Find the 
circulation figures of the daily paper which you read. A statement of 
the number of subscribers appears once a month in daily papers. 
Consider the number who read (1) the news, (2) the editorials, (3) ad¬ 
vertisements, (4) sports, and (5) the business page. Does the news 
contain only statements of events? 

2. Problem: To consider the influence of the radio. Method: List ten 
types of information which you have learned over the radio. 

3. Problem: To examine the qualifications of those who mould public 
opinion. Method: Inquire as to the training of newspaper men, radio 
speakers, authors, textbook writers, teachers, and ministers. 

References 

Bowen, Social Economy 

Lippmann, Public Opinion 

Williamson, Readings in American Democracy 








PART IV 


AMERICAN POLITICAL PROBLEMS 


American students have some difficult political 
problems to understand. Our city, state, and fed¬ 
eral governments supplement, overlap, and even 
contradict one another in a most confusing manner. 
A clear conception of the fundamental organization 
of these units must precede any detailed study of 
existing political problems. Let us, then, survey the 
principal facts about the nature and structure of 
our governments and afterwards direct our attention 
to some of the problems which concern all citizens, 
both old and young. 


CHAPTER XXIV 


THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

A. The Constitution 

What is a constitution? — Everyone thinks he knows what 
a constitution is. Most people think that it is a written 
document. That is partly true. Why only partly true? Let 
us see. 

You have doubtless heard that England has a constitu¬ 
tion, but you know that it is not a written constitution. 
You know, of course, that the United States was born on 
July 4, 1776, yet there was no written constitution until 
1781 when our first written constitution, called the Articles 
of Confederation, went into effect. How then could the 
United States exist, and not only exist, but also carry on a 
war, when it had no written constitution? How can Eng¬ 
land, one of the best governed countries in the world, get 
along without a written constitution? 

That brings us to the conclusion that a constitution is 
something more than a written document, that not all consti¬ 
tutions are written down. A constitution is an established 
and recognized process of carrying on a government. The proc¬ 
ess may be described in writing, as in the United States 
or it may be unwritten as in England. Even in the United 
States today not all of our actual constitution is in our written 
Constitution. Woodrow Wilson said that the Northwest 
Ordinance, passed in 1787, was still a fundamental part of our 
constitution. Certainly he did not mean that it was a part 
of our written Constitution. Our great nominating conven¬ 
tions, such as those that met at Chicago during the summer 
of 1932, are not authorized in our written Constitution, yet 

273 


274 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


political conventions are a part of the recognized and estab¬ 
lished process of carrying on the government. So we see that 
the constitution is more than the written document. 

The federal Constitution. — Our Constitution 1 was framed 
in 1787 and went into effect in 1789 when Washington took 
office. The causes which led to its formation and adoption 
are well known to every student of American history. It 
is not necessary to review them here. In fact, we are not 
at this time interested so much in how the Constitution was 
made as we are in what it now means to us. Let us, there¬ 
fore, examine some of its outstanding provisions, remember¬ 
ing that students, as well as teachers and authors, can study 
the document for themselves. 2 

Division of powers.—The Constitution provides for the di¬ 
vision of governmental powers among three distinct branches: 
the legislative, executive, and judicial. This is part of the 
general system of “checks and balances” by means of which 
the framers of the Constitution sought to prevent any branch 
or division of government from securing undue control of 
the governmental machinery. 

The basic merit of this threefold division of powers is that 
it safeguards each branch of government against aggression 
from the other two branches. And yet this division of powers 
is by no means so complete that the three branches do not 
work together. For example, both the appointive and the 
treaty-making powers of the President are shared by the 
Senate. The President shares in legislation through his veto 
power, as well as through his right to send messages to Con¬ 
gress. The Senate has the right to impeach all civil officers 
of the United States, and may even exert some control over 
the Supreme Court through its right to prescribe the number 
of its judges and the amount of their salaries. The judiciary, 
on the other hand, exercises the sole power of passing upon 

1 In this book the word “Constitution” is written with a capital letter 
when it refers to the written Constitution of the United States. 

2 For just this reason a copy of the Constitution has been placed in the 
Appendix. Liberal use of it will assist materially in understanding the 
whole section on political problems. 


THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 275 

the constitutionality of the acts of the other two branches 
of government. 

Division of powers between federal and state govern¬ 
ments. — Another feature of the check and balance system 
is that authority is divided between federal and state gov¬ 
ernments. The Tenth Amendment declares that ‘ ‘ the powers 
not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor 
prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states 
respectively, or to the people. ’ ’ Thus we speak of the national 
government as enjoying delegated or enumerated powers, 
while the state governments have residual or unenumerated 
powers. The federal government must show some specific 
or implied grant of power for everything that it does, but 
state governments need only show that the federal Consti¬ 
tution does not prohibit them from doing whatever they 
see fit. 

This division of powers between federal and state gov¬ 
ernments has several distinct advantages. For example, it 
allows federal and state governments to act as a check upon 
one another. Furthermore, the device admirably divides 
governmental labor: the federal government is given control 
of matters essentially national, while the states are left in 
charge of affairs distinctly state or local in character. 

Interstate relations. — Further to guarantee the integrity 
of the federal system, the Constitution specifies the funda¬ 
mental nature of interstate relations. The states are inde¬ 
pendent of one another, and are equal in federal law. The 
laws of a state have no force, and their public officials have 
no authority, beyond the state limits. 

The Constitution specifically provides that “full faith and 
credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records, 
and judicial proceedings of every other state.” This does 
not mean that the laws of a particular state are binding upon 
persons in other states. It does mean, however, that the 
courts of each state shall endeavor to give the same force to 
the laws of a neighboring state as those laws would have in 
the courts of the legislating state. 


276 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


To prevent discriminations against citizens of other states, 
the federal Constitution provides that the citizens of each 
state are “entitled to all the privileges and immunities of 
citizens in the several states.” This means that a citizen of 
one state may remove to a neighboring state, and there 
enjoy the same civil rights that the citizens of the latter 
state enjoy. 

In order that fugitive criminals may be tried and punished, 
the Constitution further provides that “a person charged in 
any state with treason, felony, or other crime, who shall 
flee from justice, and be found in another state, shall, on the 
demand of the executive authority of the state from which he 
fled, be delivered up to be removed to the state having juris¬ 
diction of the crime.” 

Private rights under the federal Constitution. — The con¬ 
stitutional limitations upon the federal government in behalf 
of private rights fall into two groups: those designed to pro¬ 
tect personal liberty, and those designed to protect property 
rights. 

In many important particulars the federal Constitution 
protects personal liberty against arbitrary interference on the 
part of the national government. Congress may pass no 
law establishing or prohibiting any religion, or abridging 
either freedom of speech or freedom of the press. The right 
of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the govern¬ 
ment for a redress of grievances shall not be denied. The 
privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended. 
Congress may not define treason. Neither bills of attainder, 
nor ex post facto legislation may be passed by Congress. 
Jury trial, fair bail, and freedom from both excessive fines 
and cruel and unusual punishments are guaranteed by the 
Constitution. Neither life, liberty nor property may be taken 
without due process of law. 

The federal Constitution likewise protects the property 
rights of the individual against federal aggression. The state 
governments alone may define property. Congress may not 
tax articles which are exported from any state. All direct 


THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 


277 


taxes must be apportioned according to population. 1 All 
duties, imposts, and excises must be uniform, that is, 
they must fall upon the same article with the same 
weight wherever found. Under the right of eminent do¬ 
main, the federal government may take private property 
for public use, but in such a case the owner must be fairly 
compensated. 

Supremacy of federal law. — A last distinctive feature 
of our system of government is that federal law is supreme. 
The Constitution states: “This Constitution and the laws of 
the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof, 
and all treaties made or which shall be made under the au¬ 
thority of the United States shall be the supreme law of the 
land.” The states are supreme in their sphere of action; 
nevertheless, when it is claimed that there is a conflict be¬ 
tween state and federal law, the latter prevails. Federal 
law is the supreme law of the land, and, in the last instance, 
it is the Supreme Court of the United States which is the 
interpreter of that law. The decisions of the Supreme Court 
are binding upon the federal government, upon the several 
states, and upon private individuals. 

Development of the Constitution. — The Constitution may 
be altered, interpreted, or changed in three important ways, 
by amendment, by court decisions, and by usage. The 
Constitution of the United States may be formally amended 
in any one of four ways. First, an amendment may be 
proposed by a two-thirds vote of each House of Congress, 
and ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states. 
Second, an amendment may be proposed by a two-thirds 
vote of each House of Congress and ratified by conventions 
in three-fourths of the States. Third, an amendment may be 
proposed by a national convention, called by Congress upon 
the request of the legislatures of two-thirds of the states, and 
ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states. The 
fourth method resembles the third, except that ratification 
is by conventions in three-fourths of the states. 

1 The Sixteenth Amendment exempts the income tax from this rule. 


278 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


The Constitution has been amended nineteen times, 1 and a 
proposed twentieth amendment was placed before the states 
for ratification early in 1932 and was immediately ratified by 
the legislatures of several states. It provides for the inaugu¬ 
ration of the President on January 20 and for the abolition of 
the short and long session in Congress. The measure, spon¬ 
sored by Senator Frank W. Norris of Nebraska, is popularly 
known as the “lame duck” amendment because it provides 
that Congressmen, elected in November, shall enter upon 
their duties in the following January; whereas under the 
old system Congressmen, defeated at the polls, nevertheless 
continued in office for more than a year. Such hold-over 
officers are called “lame ducks,” hence the name in connec¬ 
tion with the amendment. 

The federal Constitution has also been modified and de¬ 
veloped by judicial interpretation. The United States Su¬ 
preme Court has maintained that the federal government 
possesses not only those powers expressly granted by the 
Constitution, but also those powers which are included with, 
or implied from, powers expressly granted. This liberal 
construction is authorized by the Constitution itself, for the 
last clause in Section VIII of Article One of that document 
declares that Congress shall have power to “make all laws 
which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into exe¬ 
cution” its enumerated powers. Under this doctrine of im¬ 
plied powers, the influence of the national government has 
been markedly extended, chiefly with regard to the war 
power, the power to regulate interstate commerce, and the 
power to levy taxes and borrow money. 

The Constitution has also been modified by the force of 
custom and political practices. Examples of the power of 
usage to modify the Constitution are numerous, but a few 
will suffice to illustrate the principle. Custom has limited 
the President of the United States to two terms. In con¬ 
formity with a long-established custom, presidential electors 

1 Consult the Constitution in the Appendix for the amendments. They 
should be studied rather fully at this point. 


THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 


279 


do not exercise independent judgment, but merely register 
the vote of their respective constituents. Many executive 
appointments of minor importance are determined solely 
by members of Congress. Usage decrees that the President 
alone may remove officers which he has appointed with the 
advice and consent of the Senate. Lastly, the legislative 
committee system, as well as the entire machinery of the 
political party, is the outcome of custom. Concerning these 
important instruments of practical politics, the Constitu¬ 
tion is silent. 


B. The President 

Choosing the President. — Each political party nominates 
a candidate for the presidency at a national convention held 
in June or July of the presidential year. At about the same 
time the various parties in each state nominate the quota of 
presidential electors to which the state is entitled. The 
people vote on these electors on the Tuesday following the 
first Monday in November of each leap year. In each state 
the electors receiving a plurality assemble at the state capi- 
tol on the second Monday in January following their election, 
and vote directly for President and Vice President. These 
votes are then certified and sent to the President of the 
Senate. On the second Wednesday in February, this officer 
opens them, and in the presence of the two houses of Con¬ 
gress, they are counted, and the candidate who has received 
the majority of the electoral votes is declared elected. If no 
candidate has a majority, the House of Representatives elects 
one of the three leading candidates, the Representatives from 
each state casting one vote. In 1800 and again in 1824, the 
presidential election was thus decided by the House. 

General status of the President. — The President of the 
United States acts as the head of the executive branch of 
government. Since the executive is independent of the other 
two branches, the President is subject to the control of 
neither legislature nor judiciary. The President cannot be 
arrested for any cause whatsoever. No ordinary court has 


280 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


jurisdiction over the Chief Magistrate, though misconduct 
may result in his being impeached by the Senate of the 
United States. The President enjoys extensive powers, some 
of which are enumerated in the Constitution, and others of 
which he has acquired by the force of custom. 

War powers of the President. — The Constitution pro¬ 
vides that the President shall be “commander-in-chief of the 
army and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the 
several states when called into actual service of the United 
States.” In pursuance of this power the President controls 
and directs the nation’s military and naval forces, and ap¬ 
points all army and naval officers. The execution of the 
military law under which the army and navy are governed is 
also directed by the President. The President may call out 
the state militia, when in his judgment such action is neces¬ 
sary in order to suppress insurrection, repel invasion, or en¬ 
force the laws. In case of war with foreign countries, the 
President as commander-in-chief assumes full direction of 
hostilities. 

Control over foreign affairs. — The Constitution vests in 
the President the power to negotiate treaties and conventions 
with foreign nations. In practice the President usually acts 
through the Secretary of State. During the process of ne¬ 
gotiation it is customary for the President to consult with the 
Senate committee on Foreign Relations, as well as with the 
leaders of the senatorial majority. Such consultation is a 
wise step, because no treaty may become law unless ratified 
by the Senate. 

The President receives diplomatic representatives from 
foreign countries. This is largely a ceremonial duty, but it 
may involve serious consequences. When the independence 
of a foreign country is in doubt, or when the representative 
of any nation is personally objectionable to our government, 
the President may refuse to receive the foreign representa¬ 
tive. In case relations between this and a foreign country 
become strained, or in case the representative of a foreign 
power is guilty of misconduct, the President may request 


THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 


281 


the withdrawal of, or may even dismiss, the foreign repre¬ 
sentative. This severance of diplomatic relations may lead 
to war. 

The President has the further power to appoint diplomatic 
representatives to foreign countries. We send ambassadors 
to the more important countries, ministers-resident to most 
countries, envoys extraordinary or ministers-plenipotentiary 
to several countries, and commissioners for special purposes. 
In the absence of the permanent diplomatic representative 
some minor officer takes temporary charge, and is known as 
the charge d’affaires. The term of office enjoyed by diplo¬ 
matic representatives is not fixed by law, but due to the 
influence of the spoils system, it often terminates when a 
new President assumes office. 

Besides diplomatic officers, who are charged with political 
duties, our foreign service comprises various grades of con¬ 
suls, or commercial representatives. The President and the 
Senate likewise choose consular officers, but from lists of 
persons who have qualified under the merit system. Pro¬ 
motion and removal are determined by civil service rules. 

Administrative powers of the President. — The chief ad¬ 
ministrative function of the President is to carry into effect 
the laws of the United States. In the discharge of this duty 
the President is aided by a large number of subordinate 
officials, who, directly or indirectly, are responsible to him 
as head of the administration. On June 30, 1931, there were 
616,837 persons in the executive civil service of the United 
States. 

Over the appointment of these numerous officers the Presi¬ 
dent has a varying measure of control. Appointments to the 
Cabinet are usually approved, although one appointee of 
President Coolidge was rejected. The President and the 
Senate together select about 12,000 of the more important 
executive officers. These include diplomatic agents, federal 
judges, most military and naval officers, collectors of cus¬ 
toms and internal revenues, and many others. In the case 
of minor positions to be filled within a congressional district, 


282 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


the President usually confers with the Representative from 
that district, if that Representative is of the President’s 
party. If such Representative is not of the President’s 
party, the candidate for the position is really selected by the 
Senators from the proper state. The more important posi¬ 
tions in this group are filled by the Senators from the state 
in which the vacancy exists; the President ratifies such 
selections as a matter of course. Officers in this second group 
are removable only by the President. 

Nearly all of the 616,837 persons mentioned above are 
selected under the rules of the Civil Service Commission. 
Persons entering office through this system may be removed 
only for cause to promote the efficiency of the service. 

In addition to his administrative duties the President has 
the power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against 
the United States, except in the case of impeachment. A 
pardon fully exempts the individual from the punishment 
imposed upon him by law; a reprieve, on the other hand, 
is simply a temporary suspension of the execution of a 
sentence. 

Legislative powers of the President. — Though primarily 
an executive officer, the President has important powers 
over legislation. 

The President may convene either or both houses of Con¬ 
gress on extraordinary occasions. For example, he may call 
an extra session of Congress to consider such questions as the 
tariff, currency reform, or a treaty. 

The President has the right to send messages to Congress 
from time to time during his term. The recommendations 
contained in these messages exert some direct influence upon 
legislation, and are important in formulating public opinion 
outside of Congress. 

Indirectly the President exerts a considerable influence 
upon legislation by bringing political pressure to bear upon 
the Congressional leaders of his party. He also exerts some 
influence upon legislation by the use of the patronage which 
accompanies his appointing power. This influence is impor- 


THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 283 

tant as breaking down the barriers between the executive 
and legislative branches of government. 

The President may issue ordinances which have the force 
of law. As commander-in-chief of the army and navy, he 
may issue ordinances for their regulation. In pursuance of 
the duty to enforce the laws, the President may issue ordi¬ 
nances prescribing uniform means for the enforcement of the 
statutes. He may issue ordinances for specific purposes, as, 
for example, Congress in 1912 authorized the President to 
issue legislative ordinances for the government of the Canal 
Zone. 

Very important is the President’s veto power. The Pres¬ 
ident may veto any bill or joint resolution passed by Con¬ 
gress, with the exception of joint resolutions proposing 
Constitutional amendments. But the President must veto 
the bill as a whole, and not particular items. Even though 
vetoed by the President, a bill may still become law by being 
passed by a two-thirds vote in each house of Congress. In 
spite of these restrictions, the President exerts a considerable 
influence upon legislation by the use of the veto, or by the 
threat that he will employ it. Most authorities regard the 
veto power as a wholesome check upon harmful and unwise 
legislation. 

C. Federal Administration 

The Cabinet. — There are at present ten administrative 
departments, the secretaries of which constitute the Presi¬ 
dent’s Cabinet. Individually they administer their respec¬ 
tive departments. Though responsible to the President and 
at all times under his direction, the various secretaries are 
allowed a wide range of independence. Department heads 
may appoint and remove at will a large number of minor 
officers in their respective departments, though of late years 
this power has been considerably restricted by civil service 
rules. The exact scope of the work of the various depart¬ 
ments is largely defined by law. Within the limits thus set, 
the head of the department is free to make regulations 


284 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


affecting the conduct of departmental business. To expedite 
business, the work of each department is divided and sub¬ 
divided among numerous bureaus, boards, and commissions, 
functioning under the general direction of the head of the 
department. 

The Department of State. — One of the most important 
of the executive officers is the Secretary of State, whose 
principal duty is to conduct foreign affairs. In pursuance of 
this duty, the Secretary of State issues instructions to dip¬ 
lomatic and consular officers, issues passports to American 
citizens going abroad, and otherwise exercises control of 
matters touching foreign relations. 

Important domestic duties devolve upon the Secretary of 
State. When the President desires to communicate with the 
governors of the several states, he acts through the Secretary 
of State. The secretary is the custodian of the Great Seal of 
the United States. It is he who oversees the publication of 
the Federal statutes. The Secretary of State likewise has 
charge of the archives containing the originals of all laws, 
treaties, and foreign correspondence. 

Much of the work of the Department of State is performed 
through bureaus, the titles of which indicate their respective 
functions. Of these bureaus the following are the more im¬ 
portant: the diplomatic bureau, the consular bureau, the 
bureau of accounts, the bureau of indexes and archives, 
the bureau of rolls and library, the bureau of appointments, 
and the bureau of citizenship. Each of these bureaus is 
headed by a chief who is directly responsible to the Secretary 
of State. In addition to these chiefs of bureaus, the Secretary 
is aided by three assistant secretaries of state. 

The Department of the Treasury. — Supervision of the na¬ 
tional finances is the chief business of the Secretary of the 
Treasury. The Secretary annually submits to Congress esti¬ 
mates of probable receipts and expenditures, and supervises 
the collection of the tariff and internal revenue. He also 
issues warrants for all moneys paid out of the treasury. 

The scope of the department’s work may be indicated by 


THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 


285 


an enumeration of its chief officers. These include the Secre¬ 
tary himself, three assistant secretaries, six auditors, the 
treasurer, the comptroller of the treasury, the director of the 
mint, the register, the comptroller of the currency, the com¬ 
missioner of internal revenue, the director of the bureau of 
engraving and printing, the chief of the secret-service de¬ 
partment, the captain commandant of the coast guard, the 
superintendent of the life-saving service, the surgeon-general 
of the public health service, the supervising architect, and the 
farm loan commissioner. 

The Department of War. — National defense is the chief 
concern of the Secretary of War. Coast fortifications, the 
supervision of navigation, and river and harbor improve¬ 
ments fall within the scope of the department. Our insular 
possessions are administered by the Secretary of War. It is 
also the duty of this officer to prepare estimates of the ex¬ 
penses of his department, to supervise all expenditures for 
the support and transportation of the army, and to take 
charge of the issuance of orders for the movement of troops. 
In addition, he has charge of the Military Academy at West 
Point, and recommends all appointments and promotions 
in the army service. 

Under the Secretary of War are grouped a number of ad¬ 
ministrative bureaus, each headed by an army officer detailed 
for a period of four years. Of these officers the following 
are the more important: the inspector-general, the quarter- 
master-general, the adjutant general, the surgeon-general, 
the chief of engineers, the chief of ordnance, the chief signal 
officer, the chief of the coast artillery, the judge advocate 
general, the provost-marshal general, and the chief of the 
bureau of insular affairs. 

The Department of the Navy. — The Department of the . 
Navy is likewise concerned with national defense. While 
less important than the Department of War, the Department 
of the Navy is steadily gaining in prestige. It is in charge of 
a secretary, aided by an assistant secretary. It is the duty 
of the Department of the Navy to superintend the construe- 


286 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


tion and armament of war vessels, and in addition exercise 
a supervisory control over the naval service. The Naval 
Academy at Annapolis and the Naval War College at New¬ 
port are in charge of the Department of the Navy. 

The administrative work of the Department is carried on 
by seven bureaus, most of them in charge of line officers of the 
Navy, working directly under the Secretary. These bureaus 
are as follows: the bureau of navigation, the bureau of 
ordnance, the bureau of yards and docks, the bureau of sup¬ 
plies and accounts, the bureau of steam engineering, the 
bureau of medicine and surgery, and the bureau of construc¬ 
tion and repairs. 

The Department of Justice. — This department is headed 
by the Attorney-General, who acts as the chief legal adviser 
of the national government. It is his duty to represent the 
government in all cases to which the United States is a 
party. It is he who conducts proceedings against corpora¬ 
tions or individuals who violate the federal laws. General 
supervision over all federal district attorneys and marshals 
is exercised by the Attorney : General. This officer likewise 
examines the titles of lands which the government intends to 
purchase. The Attorney-General has a supervisory charge 
of the penal and reformatory institutions which are federal 
in character. Applications for pardons by the President are 
investigated by the Attorney-General. Still another of his 
duties is to superintend the codification of the federal crim¬ 
inal laws. 

The Post Office Department. — This department, headed 
by the Postmaster-General, has general, charge of the postal 
service. The Postmaster-General awards contracts for the 
transportation of the mails, and directs the management of 
the domestic and foreign mail service. The handling of 
money orders, the parcel post system, and the postal savings 
banks come under the control of the Postmaster-General. 
Of great importance is the power of this officer to bar from 
the mails publications which are fraudulent or otherwise ob¬ 
noxious. 


THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 


287 


Working under the Postmaster-General are four assistant 
postmasters-general, each in general charge of a group of 
services within the department. 

The Department of the Interior. — Aided by two assistant 
secretaries, the Secretary of the Interior performs a number 
of important functions. He has charge of all public lands, 
including national parks. The handling of Indian affairs 
constitutes one of his duties. The territories of Alaska and 
Hawaii come under the direct supervision of this department. 

Many miscellaneous functions are performed by the vari¬ 
ous bureaus within the department. Patents, pensions, and 
the geological survey come within the purview of the depart¬ 
ment. The Secretary of the Interior has charge of the distri¬ 
bution of government appropriations to various educational 
institutions. The Office of Education, at whose head is the 
Commissioner of Education, is also a part of the Interior 
Department. 

The Department of Agriculture. — All matters pertaining 
to agriculture in the widest sense are the concern of the 
Department of Agriculture. Under the direction of the 
Secretary, the Department issues a large number of scientific 
and technical publications, including the Agricultural Year¬ 
book, the series of Farmers’ Bulletins, the Monthly Weather 
Review, and the Crop Reporter. Quarantine stations for 
imported cattle, and the inspection of domestic meats and 
imported food products are concerns of the various bureaus 
within the department. Of great importance is the work 
of the weather bureau in sending out storm, flood, frost, and 
drought warnings. 

An increasingly important phase of the department’s work 
is the forest service, the work of which has been described. 
Very important also is the bureau of animal industry, which 
combats animal diseases and gives advice concerning the 
best breeds of poultry and cattle. The bureau of plant in¬ 
dustry ransacks the world for new crops suitable for our 
soils, and gives fruit-growers and farmers advice concerning 
plant parasites. Insect pests are the concern of the ento- 


288 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


mology division. Additional functions of the Department 
of Agriculture may be indicated by an enumeration of some 
of the more important of its remaining bureaus and divisions. 
These include the bureau of chemistry, the bureau of soils, 
the bureau of statistics, the bureau of crop estimates, the 
office of public roads and rural engineering, the federal 
horticultural board, and the bureau of markets. 

The Department of Commerce. — The chief duty of the 
Department of Commerce is to foster the foreign and do¬ 
mestic commerce of the United States. To promote our 
mining, manufacturing, and fishing industries, and to develop 
our transportation facilities are, therefore, among the aims 
of this department. The census, the coast survey and light¬ 
houses, and steamboat inspection are concerns of the De¬ 
partment of Commerce. The scope of the department, 
which is increasing rapidly, may be indicated by an enumera¬ 
tion of the more important bureaus grouped within it. These 
include the bureau of foreign and domestic commerce, the 
bureau of census, the bureau of lighthouses, the bureau of 
coast and geodetic survey, the steamboat inspection service, 
the bureau of navigation, the bureau of standards, and the 
bureau of fisheries. 

The Department of Labor. — Though at present the func¬ 
tions of the Department of Labor are fewer than those of 
the other departments, they are being rapidly expanded 
by the extension of government interest in industry. The 
department is concerned with practically all matters which 
affect labor conditions in the United States. 

The Department of Labor collects and publishes informa¬ 
tion upon all subjects connected with labor and capital, the 
hours and wages of labor, and methods of improving the con¬ 
dition of the working classes. It seeks to encourage industrial 
good will, and to adjust labor disputes peaceably. An im¬ 
portant bureau within the department is the bureau of im¬ 
migration, which, under the direction of the commissioner- 
general of immigration, is concerned with the administration 
of our immigration laws. The bureau of naturalization keeps 


THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 


289 


a record of immigrants, and supervises their naturalization. 
Of growing importance is the children’s bureau, which in¬ 
vestigates matters having to do with child labor, infant 
mortality, orphanage, and the work of the juvenile courts. 

Miscellaneous boards and commissions. — In addition 
to the executive departments which have been briefly dis¬ 
cussed, the federal administration includes many independ¬ 
ent boards, bureaus, and commissions which perform duties 
not assigned to any of the ten departments. These agencies 
have been established from time to time under the authority 
of Congressional statutes. The chiefs of the bureaus and the 
members of the boards and commissions are appointed by the 
President and the Senate, most of them for a term ranging 
between six and twelve years. These officials are largely 
experts, who happily are sufficiently exempt from the spoils 
system to stand a fair chance of surviving a change of ad¬ 
ministration. 

Among the more important of these boards and com¬ 
missions are the following: the Federal Reserve Board, the 
Federal Farm Loan Board, the Federal Board for Vocational 
Education, the Federal Trade Commission, the Interstate 
Commerce Commission, the United States Tariff Commis¬ 
sion, the Civil Service Commission, the Federal Power Com¬ 
mission, and the Federal Radio Commission. 

D. Congress 

The Senate. — The Senate 1 consists of 96 members who 
serve for periods of six years. In order to stabilize its organi¬ 
zation, one-third of the Senators retire every two years, 
making room for those who are elected. Since 1913 Senators 
have been chosen by popular election. Both Senators and 
Representatives receive $10,000 a year and allowances for 
traveling expenses and secretarial work. 

1 Students are urged to consult the Constitution for details as to the 
qualifications for both Senators and Representatives. Problem 3 at the 
end of the chapter will help you in securing these details. 


290 PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 

The House of Representatives. — Since 1910 the House 
has consisted of 435 members, elected for terms of two years. 



Apportionment of Representatives in Congress, 1930 

Each congressional district has an average population of 280,674. 


The reapportionment act of 1930 caused twenty-one states 
to lose one or more representatives; whereas eleven states 
gained one or more. States are divided by the legislatures 
into as many Congressional districts as there are Congress¬ 
men. 

Special powers of the Senate. — Of the three powers exer¬ 
cised exclusively by the Senate, the power to approve treaties 
is one of the most important. All treaties negotiated by the 
President must be approved by a two-thirds vote of the 
Senate before becoming law. The treaty may be approved 
or rejected as a whole, or it may be rejected in part, and 
additional articles recommended as amendments. If changed 
in form or content by the Senate the treaty does not become 
law until both the President and the foreign power have 
assented to the amendment or change. 

In order to become valid, a large number of presidential 
appointments must receive the approval of the Senate. 















THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 


291 



Can you identify the state? Why are the districts so irregular? Will they be improved 
when the new districts are laid out? 

The Senate exercises a special judicial function in that it 
may sit as a court of impeachment for the trial of persons 
whom the House of Representatives has formally charged 
with treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemean¬ 
ors. Excluding military and naval officers, who are tried by 
court-martial, and excluding also members of Congress, who 
are subject only to the rules of their respective houses, all 
federal officers are subject to impeachment. Impeachment 
requires a two-thirds vote of the Senators present. Removal 
from office and disqualification to hold any office under the 
United States is the heaviest penalty which can be imposed 
upon an impeached official for misconduct in office. 

Special powers of the House. — The House likewise en¬ 
joys three special powers. One of these is the right to elect a 
President of the United States in case no candidate has a 
majority of the electoral votes. The federal Constitution 
provides that all revenue bills must originate in the lower 
house. However, the Senate has come to share this power 
through its power to amend such bills. The House of Repre¬ 
sentatives has the sole power to prefer charges of impeach¬ 
ment. The case is then tried before the Senate, the House 
acting as the prosecuting agency. 






292 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


General powers of Congress. — The powers of Congress 
are of two kinds: first, express powers, by which is meant 
those specifically enumerated in the federal Constitution; 
and second, implied powers, by which is meant those which 
are incident to express powers and necessary to their execu¬ 
tion. The foundation to the doctrine of implied powers is 
the constitutional clause which authorizes Congress to make 
all laws “necessary and proper” for carrying out the powers 
granted it by the Constitution. 

Grouping express and implied powers together, the more 
important powers of Congress may be summarized as follows: 

Revenue and expenditures. Congress has the power to lay 
and collect taxes, duties, imports, and excises, and to appro¬ 
priate money in order “to pay the debts and provide for the 
common defense and general welfare of the United States.” 
But indirect taxes must be uniform throughout the United 
States, and all direct taxes, except income taxes, must be 
apportioned among the states according to population. A 
further limitation is that Congress may not tax exports from 
any state, nor levy upon the “necessary instrumentalities” 
of any state government. 

National defense. Here the powers of Congress are prac¬ 
tically unlimited, except by the constitutional provisions 
that the President shall be commander-in-chief, and that 
military appropriations shall not be made for more than two 
years. Congress can raise and support armies, create and 
maintain a navy, and provide for the organization and use 
of the state militia. Congress may also declare war and 
make rules concerning captures on land and sea. 

Foreign relations. Congress as a body has little direct 
control over foreign relations, though the Senate shares the 
treaty-making power with the President. But Congress has 
the power to create diplomatic and consular posts, as well 
as “to define and punish piracies and felonies committed 
on the high seas, and offences against the law of nations.” 
Congress also exercises control over immigration and natural¬ 
ization. 


THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 


293 


Economic interests. Congress may regulate commerce with 
foreign countries, among the several states, and with the 
Indian tribes. The exclusive power to coin money, and other¬ 
wise control the monetary system, is vested in Congress. 
Congress may make uniform laws on bankruptcy throughout 
the United States, and fix the standards of weights and 
measures. The establishment of post offices and post roads 
and the protection of authors and inventors through legisla¬ 
tion on patents and copyrights are also functions of Congress. 

Territories. Congress has the power to dispose of, and 
make all needful rules and regulations respecting, the terri¬ 
tory or other property belonging to the United States. Con¬ 
gress likewise exercises exclusive control over the District 
of Columbia, and over all places purchased by the federal 
government for the erection of forts, arsenals, and similar 
buildings. Congress also has the right to determine the ad¬ 
mission to the Union of new states, and “to dispose of and 
make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory 
or other property belonging to the United States.” 

Crime. In criminal matters the power of Congress is 
slight. For example, it cannot say what constitutes treason, 
since that crime is defined by the Constitution. However, 
Congress may provide for the punishment of counterfeiters 
and persons committing crimes on the high seas or offenses 
against international law. It may also define certain crimes 
against federal law, and prescribe penalties therefore. 

Control over the judiciary. The judiciary is an independent 
branch of government, but Congress may determine the num¬ 
ber of Supreme Court judges, fix their salaries, and define 
their appellate jurisdiction. Congress may also determine 
the jurisdiction, and define the procedure, of the inferior 
federal courts. 

Implied powers. Last among the powers of Congress is the 
authority granted to it by the Constitution to make all laws 
which shall be deemed necessary and proper for carrying into 
execution the powers expressly granted to Congress by the 
Constitution. It is under the authority of this clause that 


294 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


the implied powers of Congress have been so greatly ex¬ 
panded. 

Congressional sessions. — The federal Constitution re¬ 
quires Congress to assemble at least once a year, and Congress 
has provided that the date of meeting shall be the first Mon¬ 
day in December. In addition to such special sessions as may 
be called either by the President or by Congress itself, there 
are two regular sessions. One of these is the long session, 
from December of each odd year until Congress adjourns, 
generally sometime during the following summer. The 
other is the short session, beginning when Congress assembles 
in December of each even year, and ending at noon on the 
fourth of March following. 

Internal organization. — Each house of Congress has the 
right to determine its own rule of practice, punish members 
for disorderly conduct, and, by a two-thirds vote, expel a 
member. Members guilty of acts of violence or abusive lan¬ 
guage may be punished by a vote of censure, or may be 
obliged to apologize to the house. For the commission of a 
grave offense, a Congressman may be expelled from the house 
to which he was elected. 

The Constitution requires that “each house shall keep a 
journal of its proceedings, and from time to time publish 
the same, excepting such parts as may in their judgment re¬ 
quire secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the members of 
either house shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, 
be entered upon the journal. ,, The object of this is to secure 
a permanent record of legislative action, as well as publicity 
of proceedings. The vote by yeas and nays fixes responsi¬ 
bility for his vote upon each member by making it a matter 
of public record. The Congressional Record , an official ac¬ 
count of Congressional debates and proceedings, appears 
daily during Congressional sessions. This is supposedly a 
verbatim report of what is said in each house, but as a matter 
of fact members are allowed to edit and revise their remarks 
before they are printed. In the case of the House, many 
of the published speeches have never been delivered at all. 


THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT 
Can you identify each of the judges? 








THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Comment upon the importance of what is done in the House. 





























THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 


295 


The officers of Congress. — In the House of Representa¬ 
tives the chief officer is the Speaker, or presiding officer. The 
Speaker is chosen from the membership of the House by that 
body itself. 

In the Senate the Vice President of the United States acts 
as the presiding officer. In the absence of the Vice President, 
or in case that officer succeeds to the Presidency, the Senate 
itself chooses a president pro tempore to occupy the chair. 
The presiding officer of the Senate is much less powerful than 
the Speaker of the House; indeed he is little more than a 
chairman or moderator. 

The Congressional committee system. — In both houses 
of Congress the assembly is divided into a number of com- 



A Bill Becomes a Law 


mittees, each of which is charged with the consideration of 
legislation dealing with particular subjects. Previous to 
1911 the Speaker appointed all House committees, but since 
that date all committees have been chosen by the House as 
a body, though in practice the decisions are made by the 
caucuses of the majority and minority parties, held just before 
the organization of the House. Similarly, the Senate chooses 
its own committees from lists drawn up by the caucuses of 
the two political parties. In either house, the minority party 





















296 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


has such representation upon committees as the majority 
party chooses to allow. There are in the House more than 
fifty of these committees, while in the Senate the number is 
even larger. In the House of Representatives the more im¬ 
portant committees are those on rules, ways and means, 
appropriations, judiciary, banking and currency, interstate 
and foreign commerce, and rivers and harbors. 

E. Federal Courts 

The Supreme Court. — At the head of the federal judicial 
system stands the Supreme Court. This tribunal holds its 
annual sessions at Washington, D. C., usually from October 
until May. By far the most important business coming 
before this court involves questions of constitutional law. 1 
Cases involving questions of constitutionality are always 
brought up to the Supreme Court, from either the lower 
federal courts, or from the state courts. Cases of this kind 
are brought before the Supreme Court either on appeal or 
by writ of error. 

When a case is submitted to the Supreme Court, each jus¬ 
tice makes an independent study of it, and a conference is 
then held, in which the various sides of the question are 
discussed and a decision reached. The Chief Justice then 
requests one of his colleagues to prepare the “opinion of the 
court,” containing the conclusions reached by the majority. 
In important cases, the disagreeing minority prepares a “dis¬ 
senting opinion,” setting forth their reasons for believing 
that the case should have been decided otherwise. This 
dissenting opinion does not, however, affect the validity of 
the decision reached by the majority of the justices. 

The Circuit Court of Appeals. — The United States is 
divided into ten circuits, in each one of which a Circuit 

1 Jurisdiction over questions of constitutionality is a form of appellate 
jurisdiction. In addition, the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction 
in (1) cases affecting diplomatic and consular officers, and (2) cases to 
which a State is a party. In practice, however, the original jurisdiction 
of the Supreme Court has been relatively unimportant. 


THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 


297 


Court of Appeals exercises jurisdiction. The Circuit Court 
consists of three judges. As a general proposition this court 
has appellate jurisdiction to review the decisions of the 
district courts, but in some instances cases may be taken 
from the district courts directly to the Supreme Court of 
the United States. In cases in which jurisdiction results 



Federal Circuit Court Districts of the United States 


from the fact that the suit is one between an American 
citizen and an alien, or between citizens of different states in 
the Union, the decision of the Circuit Court of Appeals is 
generally final. The jurisdiction of this court is also final in 
all cases arising under the revenue, patent, and copyright 
laws of the United States. 

The District Court. — The lowest of the regular federal 
courts is the District Court. One of these courts exists in 
each of the eighty-five districts into which the country is 
divided. For each district court there is generally a separate 
district judge, who holds court at one or more places within 
the district. 

The matters which may be brought before a Federal Dis¬ 
trict Court are various. Among other things, the jurisdiction 













298 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


of the court extends to all crimes and offenses cognizable un¬ 
der the authority of the United States, cases arising under the 
internal revenue, postal and copyright laws, proceedings in 
bankruptcy, all suits and proceedings arising under any law 
regulating immigration, and also all suits and proceedings 
arising under any law to protect trade and commerce against 
monopoly. 

Federal judicial agents. — All federal judges are appointed 
by the President, subject to confirmation by the Senate. 
They hold office for life, or during good behavior. Since 
federal judges can be removed from office only by impeach¬ 
ment, they are relatively independent, both of the appoint¬ 
ing power and of the popular will. 

Judges receive salaries which may be increased, but which 
cannot be diminished, during their term of office. Each of 
the eight associate justices of the Supreme Court receives an 
annual salary of $20,000, while the Chief Justice receives 
$20,500 a year. Circuit judges receive a salary of $12,500 a 
year, and each district court judge receives $10,000 a year. 
Upon reaching the age of seventy years, any federal judge 
who has held his commission for at least ten years, may 
resign and continue to draw full salary during the remainder 
of his life. 

Some additional judicial agents may be mentioned. In 
each federal judicial district there is a United States 
marshal, who is charged with the duty of enforcing the orders 
of the court. There is also in each district a federal prosecu¬ 
tor, who has the title of United States district attorney. It 
is this officer who institutes proceedings against persons 
violating federal law. Both marshals and district attorneys 
work under the direction of the Attorney-General of the 
United States. 

Judicial interpretation of the statutes. — The crowning 
feature of the American judiciary is its power to pass upon 
the constitutionality of state and federal laws. The Con¬ 
stitution does not give to the courts the power to declare 
state or federal statutes invalid on the ground that they 


THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 


299 


conflict with the federal Constitution, but in the famous case 
of Marbury vs. Madison in 1803, Chief Justice Marshall 
demonstrated that under the Constitution the Supreme 
Court must possess the power of declaring statutes null and 
void when they conflict with the fundamental law of the 
land. In deciding against the validity of a law, the court 
does not officially annul it, but merely refuses to enforce the 
statute in the particular case before the court. Thereupon, 
the executive officials who might be charged with the ad¬ 
ministration of that particular law, neglect to enforce it. 

General policy of the federal courts. — The federal courts 
have consistently refused to decide abstract questions not 
presented in the form of a concrete case between parties to 
an actual suit. The Supreme Court, for example, will take 
no notice of a statute until the question of its constitutionality 
arises in the form of a concrete case. 

The federal courts have consistently refused to interfere in 
purely political questions, the decision of which rests with 
executive or legislative authorities. For example, the court 
will not touch questions of the existence of war or peace, or 
the admission of a new state into the Union. 

In reaching a decision, two forces are brought to bear upon 
the courts. First, the character of previous decisions in 
similar or analogous cases influences a decision. Second, 
important consideration is given the demands of justice or 
equity in the particular case in hand, regardless of precedent. 
Generally speaking judicial decisions strike a course midway 
between these two extremes. 

Activities and References 
Significant Words and Phrases 

Constitution, process, checks and balances, legislation, executive, judicial, 
delegated or enumerated powers, implied powers, interstate, intrastate, privi¬ 
leges and immunities, habeas corpus, attainder, ex post facto, bail, eminent 
domain, plurality, majority, civil service, reprieve, pardon, veto, internal 
revenue, ratification, committee system, opinion of court, dissenting opinion, 
original and appellate jurisdiction. 


300 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


Questions 

1. Define “constitution.” Distinguish between written and unwritten 

constitutions. 

2. Mention three ways in which even a written constitution changes. 

3. Examine the Constitution in the Appendix. How many pages does 

it cover? How is it divided? 

4. Name and define the three branches of government. 

5. What is the “checks and balances” system? 

6. What powers do the states have? 

7. Who made the Constitution, the people or the states? 

8. On what principles are the powers divided between the states and the 

federal government? 

9. Does a court in Michigan have to respect the decisions of a court in 

Indiana? Explain. 

10. Does a state have to surrender a criminal to the state from which 

he escaped? 

11. Name five privileges and five immunities of citizens. 

12. Does the bill of rights in the federal Constitution protect citizens 

against state legislatures? 

13. Name four kinds of rights which are guaranteed the citizens of the 

United States. 

14. In case of conflict, which is supreme, federal or state law? 

15. Name the four ways by which the Constitution can be amended. 

Which one is actually used? 

16. How may a decision by the Supreme Court change the Constitution? 

17. Define the phrase “lame duck.” 

18. Name a custom which has the force of a constitutional provision. 

19. Recount the steps in the process of electing a President. 

20. What are some war powers of the President? 

21. What powers does the President have in foreign affairs? 

22. Name the officers filled by appointment of the President. 

23. Give three instances to prove the truth of this sentence: The President 

has great powers in legislation. 

24. Name the ten cabinet offices and officers. (The latter can be secured 

from the World Almanac.) 

25. Explain this statement: The Secretary of State is primarily our 

Secretary of Foreign Affairs. 

26. Give an example of internal revenue. (Hint: Examine a cigar box.) 

27. Mention four officers in the Department of the Treasury. 

28. Locate the military and naval academies. 

29. What are the chief duties of the Attorney-General? 

30. The post office department employs more men than any other depart¬ 

ment. Explain why this is true. 


THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 


301 


31. Mention four duties of the Secretary of Interior. 

32. Who is the present Commissioner of Education? 

33. In what ways does the Department of Agriculture help farmers? 

34. One cabinet officer prepares bulletins telling business men what 

products are in demand in various foreign countries. Which officer 
prepares such reports? 

35. Why, do you suppose, is immigration placed in charge of the Secretary 

of Labor? 

36. Mention five boards or commissions of the federal government. 

37. What salaries do Senators receive? Representatives? 

38. How many members are there in the Senate? in the House? 

39. What are three special powers belonging to the Senate? 

40. What are three special powers belonging to the House? 

41. List ten powers of Congress. (Secure your answers out of the text or 

directly from the Constitution.) 

42. What classes of crimes are subject to federal law? 

43. How often does Congress meet? When? 

44. What is the principal officer of each house of Congress called? How 

does each get his office? 

45. What is published in the Congressional Record? 

46. Name some important committees in Congress. 

47. Describe the procedure of the Supreme Court. 

48. How do federal judges secure their position? 

49. What principle was established by the case of Marbury vs. Madison? 

50. What kinds of cases does the Supreme Court avoid? 

51. On what principles does the Court decide cases? 

Problems 

1. Problem: To learn how the Constitution was framed. Method: Pre¬ 
pare a report on the Constitutional Convention. Name and identify 
eight members. Describe the hall in which the convention met. 
Describe three compromises which were necessary. 

2. Problem: To survey the amendments to the Constitution. Method: 
Using the Constitution in the Appendix for securing your information, 
complete the following table: 


Number oj the 

Concerned with 

Date 

Amendment 



I 

Freedom of speech and press 

1791 









302 PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 

3. Problem: To study the qualifications of officers. Method: Use the 
Constitution and complete the following table: 


Officer 

Age 

Other qualifications 

Length of term 

President. 

Vice-President. 

Senator. 

Representative. 

Supreme Court Judge.. 





4. Problem: To appreciate the work of the Cabinet. Method: Let each 
member of the class imagine himself a cabinet officer. Prepare a 
report for the President summarizing what you have done and what 
you propose to do. Let the class vote on the advisability of your 
proposals. Be careful to note whether each pupil concerns himself 
only with the duties which fall within the department that he represents. 

5. Problem: To visualize the duties of the President. Method: Write an 
imaginary account of a typical day of the President. Congress is in 
session; so do not forget the committees, the diplomats, the office- 
seekers, the newspaper men, and the visitors. 

References 

Beard, American Government and Politics 

Magruder, American Government 

Munro, American Government Today 

Ogg and Ray, Introduction to American Government 

Spindt and Ryan, Foundations of American Government 
















CHAPTER XXV 


STATE GOVERNMENT 

Powers of state governments. — Federal law is the highest 
law of the land, and no state constitution, state statute, or 
local law or ordinance may contravene it. But beyond this 
restriction, the authority of the state is supreme. Just as 
state government must defer to federal authority, so local 
government is subservient to state authority. Just as the 
Federal Supreme Court may declare unconstitutional any 
executive or legislative act, either of the national, state, or 
local authorities, so the Supreme Court of any state may de¬ 
clare null and void the acts of state or local authorities which 
conflict with its constitution. Though they are limited by 
the federal Constitution in matters which are preeminently 
national, the states reserve to themselves a vast body of 
authority. Almost all of the ordinary activities of life are 
controlled by state or local governments, rather than by the 
federal government. 

A. State Constitutions 

The bill of rights. — A vital part of a state constitution 
is the bill of rights, roughly corresponding to the first ten 
amendments to the federal Constitution. Generally the bill 
of rights affirms the principle of republican government, 
maintains that all powers are inherent in the people, and 
declares that all free government is formed by the authority 
of the people. A typical bill of rights also provides that the 
laws of the state shall not be suspended except by the legis¬ 
lative assembly, and includes the traditional imitations on 
behalf of private rights. These include the right of free 
speech; the right to jury trial; the free exercise of religious 


304 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


worship; the right peaceably to assemble and petition the 
government for redress of grievances; the privilege of the 
writ of habeas corpus except in case of rebellion, invasion, 
or public danger; the prohibition of excessive bail, and cruel 
and unusual punishments; and compensation for private 
property when taken for public use. 

The framework of government. —- A second part of a typi¬ 
cal state constitution deals with the distribution of powers, 
the limitations upon state officials and other elements in the 
framework of government. Especially in the more recent 
constitutions is the form of state government outlined in 
considerable detail. In addition to providing a system of 
checks and balances by separating the executive, legislative, 
and judicial powers of state government, this part of the con¬ 
stitution defines and limits the suffrage, provides for the 
organization of the state legislature, and prescribes the limita¬ 
tions under which the legislature must operate. The election 
of the governor and other important state officials is pro¬ 
vided for, as is the relation of rural and municipal govern¬ 
ment to the state government. This part of the constitution 
likewise creates the state judicial system, though the regula¬ 
tion of details with regard to jurisdiction, procedure, and ap¬ 
peals is generally left to the discretion of the state legislature. 

State finances. — A third division of a typical state con¬ 
stitution places a number of limitations upon the financial 
powers of the state legislature. These provisions are often 
detailed and complicated and hence are difficult to sum¬ 
marize. Their general purpose, however, is to fix a debt 
limit beyond which the legislature cannot go, , and to compel 
that body to make adequate provision for the payment of 
interest and principal in the case of debts which shall be 
incurred. 

Control of economic interests. — The more recent state 
constitutions provide in considerable detail for the regula¬ 
tion of economic interests within the state. The activities of 
industrial organizations are often narrowly restricted. In 
many states the constitution provides for a corporation com- 


STATE GOVERNMENT 


305 


mission with large powers in the regulation of rates and 
charges, as well as general supervision of corporate business. 
Many recent constitutions specify the conditions under which 
women and children may be employed in industrial estab¬ 
lishments. 

Provision for the general welfare. — An increasingly im¬ 
portant part of the state constitution deals with the general 
welfare. Such vital concerns as the public school system are 
dealt with. In a typical western state, for example, the con¬ 
stitution requires the legislature to provide free instruction in 
the common schools of the state for all persons between the 
ages of five and twenty-five. The same document sets aside 
certain revenues for educational purposes. The safeguarding 
of the public health, and detailed provision for the creation 
and maintenance of public institutions for the dependent, 
defective, and delinquent classes, are other concerns of this 
part of the state constitution. 

Provision for amendment. — In about two-thirds of the 
states the constitution provides for its own amendment by 
a constitutional convention composed of delegates elected 
by the voters of the state. The convention method is uni¬ 
versally employed when a new constitution is desired. Some¬ 
times the state constitution provides for the holding of such 
conventions at regular intervals, but generally the initiative 
is left to the legislature. When, by vote or by resolution, this 
body declares in favor of a convention, the proposition is 
placed before the voters. If a majority of these favor the 
project, the legislature arranges for the election of delegates 
and fixes the time and place of the convention sessions. After 
the convention has completed its work, it is customary for 
the new constitution to be submitted to the people for ap¬ 
proval. 

Another common way of amending the state constitution, 
found in every state except New Hampshire, is through legis¬ 
lative action subsequently ratified by popular vote. By this 
method separate constitutional amendments may be adopted, 
without necessitating a wholesale revision of the constitution. 


306 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


Such individual amendments are usually proposed by the 
legislature and are later submitted to popular vote. 

Within the last decade several states, particularly in the 
West, have adopted a more direct method of amending the 
constitution. This is through the initiative and referendum. 
In Oregon, for example, eight per cent of the legal voters may 
petition for a proposed amendment to the constitution. The 
proposal is then submitted to the voters, and if it receives a 
majority of all votes cast, it becomes part of the state consti¬ 
tution. Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Michigan, 
Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, and other states 
allow this type of constitutional amendment. 

B. The Governor 

The election of the governor. — In every state in the 
union the governor is elected by popular vote. In most Of 
the states this election takes place, together with that of other 
state officials, on the Tuesday following the first Monday in 
November. Usually a gubernatorial candidate is required to 
be at least thirty years of age. He must be a United States 
citizen, and a resident of his state for at least five years 
preceding his election. 

In twenty-three states the governor is elected for four 
years, in twenty-four states he is elected for two years, and 
in one state, New Jersey, he is elected for three years. His 
salary varies from $4,000 in Texas to $25,000 in New York. 

Executive powers of the governor. — The governor is 
charged by the state constitution to see that the laws are 
faithfully executed. This is similar to the chief duty of the 
President of the United States, but whereas the President is 
aided by subordinate administrative officials over whom he 
has complete control, the governor must act through a large 
number of state and local officials over whom he has little 
effective control. 

Of some value, however, is the power of the governor to 
exercise general supervision over the various executive officers 


STATE GOVERNMENT 


307 


of the state. He enjoys, in addition, the power to appoint 
many of the subordinate administrative officials. Usually 
these appointments must be confirmed by the upper house of 
the state legislature. In most cases the governor cannot 
remove officials so appointed without the consent of the 
senate or council. 

The governor is commander-in-chief of the armed forces 
of the state, and when the regular officers of the law are un¬ 
able to cope with domestic violence, he is empowered to call 
out the militia. In this connection, the governor has the 
power of suspending the writ of habeas corpus , though most 
states declare that this writ may not be suspended except in 
times of rebellion and invasion. Two or three states have 
recently provided that the writ of habeas corpus may not be 
suspended in any case whatsoever. 

Legislative powers of the governor. — In general the 
governor occupies the same relation to the state legislature, 
as does the President toward Congress. Thus the governor 
may send periodic messages to the legislature, and may 
recommend such legislative measures as he believes desirable. 
The governor often communicates with the legislature con¬ 
cerning the financial condition and needs of the state. The 
governor may also call special sessions of the state legisla¬ 
ture for the consideration of urgent matters. In case the 
two houses of the legislature are unable to agree upon a 
time for adjournment, the governor may adjourn the state 
legislature. 

In one respect the governor’s power of veto exceeds that 
of the President, for in about two-thirds of the states the gov¬ 
ernor may veto individual items in appropriation bills. This 
privilege is denied the President, who must accept or reject 
a measure as a whole. Like the President, the governor influ¬ 
ences legislation through his relations with the leaders of his 
party in the legislature, as well as through his power of the 
patronage. 

Judicial powers of the governor. — In almost every state 
the governor has considerable control over the issuance of 


308 PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 

pardons and reprieves, in the case of all offenses committed 
against the state. In some states the power to issue pardons 
and reprieves is exercised with the consent of the state legis¬ 
lature, in other states the governor shares this power with a 
board of pardons; in a few states the governor may act alone. 

Tendency of the governor’s power to increase. — The 
earlier state constitutions tended to restrict the powers of the 
governor, and to extend liberal grants of power to the state 
legislature. Of recent years the abuse of legislative power has 
tended to encourage suspicion of the legislature and a growing 
confidence in the governor. As a consequence, the length of 
his term has been increased in some states. In the effort to 
shorten the ballot and concentrate responsibility for the state 
administration upon some one official, various states are in¬ 
creasing the appointive power of the governor. In a few 
states the governor now has authority to make special in¬ 
quiries into the workings of the various executive depart¬ 
ments, with a view to checking inefficient and irresponsible 
methods of work. In some states the governor’s share in 
budget-making is increasing. In the majority of states the 
general tendency toward a shorter ballot, the reorganization 
of the state administration, and other methods of reforming 
state government, will probably continue to enlarge the 
power and influence of the governor. 

Limitations upon the governor. — A number of factors 
operate to limit the power of the state governor. 

The federal Constitution limits his authority by declaring 
that persons charged with crime in, and escape from, a neigh¬ 
boring state must be delivered up to the executive authorities 
of the state in which the crime is charged to have been com¬ 
mitted. 

The executive power of state government is not concen¬ 
trated in the governor, but is distributed among a host of 
administrative officials. Many of these officials are elected 
directly by the people, and cannot, therefore, be held ac¬ 
countable by the governor. Furthermore, the actual exe¬ 
cution of the state laws rests primarily with municipal and 


STATE GOVERNMENT 


309 


other local officials, and over these officers the governor 
has little or no control. The express powers of the President 
of the United States have been rather liberally interpreted by 
the courts, but the powers of the state governor have gen¬ 
erally been construed in a narrow and literal sense. In many 
states his power rarely or never extends beyond the express 
limits imposed by the state constitution. 

C. State Administration 

The older group of administrative officers. — Aside from 
the governor, the administrative officers of the state fall into 
two groups: first, the older officers, who are relatively few, 
and who are almost always elective; and second, the newer 
officers, boards, and commissions, who are relatively numer¬ 
ous, and who may be either elective or appointive. 

The first group comprises such officers as the Lieutenant 
Governor, the Secretary of State, the State Treasurer, the 
Auditor or Comptroller, and the Attorney-General. These 
older officers are usually elected at the general state election, 
for a term varying from state to state. These officers are not 
under the control of the governor, but fulfill duties prescribed 
by the constitution, and are responsible only to the people 
and to the courts. They may be, and often are, of a different 
political party from the governor, and since they are not 
under the control of that official, they often work at cross¬ 
purposes with him. This lack of coordination is in striking 
contrast to the harmony of action existing between the Presi¬ 
dent of the United States and the heads of the Federal Execu¬ 
tive Departments. 

The newer group of administrative officers. — As state 
government has increased in complexity, the older group 
of administrative officers has been supplemented by the addi¬ 
tion of a large number of new officers. 

These newer administrative officials are quite numerous, 
but their general character may be indicated by dividing 
them into two classes: 


/ 


310 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


The first class includes individual officers, such as, for ex¬ 
ample, a superintendent of prisons, a state architect, a state 
historian, a commissioner of health, a food inspector, a geolo¬ 
gist, a commissioner of corporations, a commissioner of bank¬ 
ing, a superintendent of public works, and a state surveyor. 

Besides individual officers, the newer group of administra¬ 
tive officials includes a large number of boards and commis¬ 
sions which have been created by the state legislature and 
endowed with large powers for the study and control of 
specific matters. The following boards and commissions are 
examples of this second class: a state civil service commis¬ 
sion, a tax commission, a board of charities and correction, a 
water supply commission, a tax equalization board, a quar¬ 
antine commission, a voting machine commission, a board 
of pharmacy, a highway commission, and a public service 
commission. 

Defects of state administration. — The enlargement of the 
state administration by this creation of numerous individual 
offices, boards, and commissions indicates an attempt on the 
part of state governments to grapple with the problems of 
democracy. Nevertheless, this rapid growth of the state 
administration has had serious consequences. Once created, 
many of the newer officers have attempted to perpetuate 
themselves. State legislatures have been harassed by boards 
and commissions seeking unnecessary appropriations. Poli¬ 
ticians without expert training or ability are often placed on 
boards and commissions dealing with technical matters. 

Responsible and efficient state government is rendered 
difficult by the inability of the governor effectively to control 
the fewer elective officials who constitute the older group of 
administrative officers; an even greater difficulty arises from 
the creation and expansion of the newer group of officers. 
The excessive number of individual officers, boards, and com¬ 
missions makes for inefficient and irresponsible government. 
Some of these officials are elected by the people, others are ap¬ 
pointed by the governor. Their terms vary so widely that, 
as Professor Beard has pointed out, the appointing power 


STATE GOVERNMENT 


311 


never has an opportunity to make a clean sweep and intro¬ 
duce more efficient administrative methods. There is little 
or no coordination between the various administrative offices, 
and very little centralization of responsibility. 

The state civil service. — The spoils system has long con¬ 
stituted a defect, not only in the federal government but 
in American state government as well. And as in the case of 
the national government, this evil has been attacked pri¬ 
marily through the merit system. New York state led the 
way in 1883 by passing a comprehensive Civil Service Act. 
This law provided for a commission authorized to cooperate 
with the governor in preparing rules, classifying the state 
civil service, and conducting the examinations for the posi¬ 
tions to be filled. Since then, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, 
Colorado, New Jersey, California, Ohio, Illinois, and other 
states have adopted some type of civil service system. 

State civil service laws are largely modeled after the na¬ 
tional Civil Service Act of 1883. In most of the legislating 
states laws of this type provide for competitive examinations 
of a practical nature; they prohibit political and religious 
interrogatives; and they forbid the assessment of holders of 
civil service positions for political purposes. Appointment 
and promotion are upon the basis of merit, although as in 
the case of the federal civil service, the standards for judging 
the character and capacity of individual officeholders have 
not yet been perfected. 

D. The State Legislature 

Structure of the state legislature. — The representative 
branch of state government is known under different names 
in various states, but the term “state legislature” is in more 
or less general use. 

The state legislature is invariably a two-chambered body; 
the upper house is the smaller and is called the senate, while 
the lower and more numerous branch is variously known as 
the house of representatives, house of delegates, or assembly. 


312 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


Usually the state senate differs from the lower house in 
certain important particulars. The senatorial districts from 
which members of the upper house are elected are always 
larger than are the districts from which members to the lower 
house are chosen. Senators are usually chosen for longer 
terms than are representatives. As in the case of the na¬ 
tional Senate, the senate (in most states) is made a continuous 
body by the provision that its members shall begin their 
terms at certain periodic intervals. In the lower house of 
the state legislature, on the other hand, all of the members 
take their seats at the same time. 

Basis of representation. — For the purpose of electing 
members of the state legislature, practically all of the states 
are divided into numerous senatorial and representative elec¬ 
tion districts. Some states apply the rule that representa¬ 
tives in the state legislature shall be apportioned among dis¬ 
tricts containing practically an equal number of inhabitants. 

Other states, however, provide exceptions to this rule. For 
example, Alabama, Florida, New York, and other states pro¬ 
vide that each county shall have at least one member in the 
house. Often the result of this arrangement is that the 
smaller or more sparsely populated counties are over-repre¬ 
sented in the state legislature, while the more populous 
counties are under-represented. 

Several states, for example, Connecticut, Illinois, Ohio, 
and Missouri, arrange representation in the state legislature 
so that cities are under-represented with respect to rural 
districts. Chicago has threatened, more or less seriously, 
to secede from the state of Illinois unless it is given propor¬ 
tional representation. 

Membership. — The state constitution determines the 
qualifications of those who are entitled to vote for state legis¬ 
lators. Generally, anyone qualified to vote for a state legis¬ 
lator is also eligible to membership. However, holders of 
both federal and state offices are excluded from sitting in 
the state legislature. 

In some states the term of a senator is the same as that of 


STATE GOVERNMENT 


313 


a representative, but generally senators are elected for a 
longer term than are members of the lower house. Repre¬ 
sentatives are generally chosen for two years, senators for 
four. 

In all states, members of the legislature are paid either a 
fixed annual salary or a per diem allowance based upon the 
length of the legislative session. In most states senators and 
representatives receive equal compensation. 

All state legislators are exempt from arrest or civil proc¬ 
ess during the session. In addition they have the usual 
privilege of free speech in their official capacities. 

Organization. — Formerly state legislatures met annually, 
but at present the great majority convene only once in two 
years. In the effort to cut down the amount of superfluous 
legislation, a number of state constitutions now restrict the 
legislative session to from forty to ninety days. The legisla¬ 
ture may adjourn itself to meet later in special session, or 
the governor may call special sessions. The governor may 
adjourn the legislature, if the two houses fail to agree upon 
a time for adjournment. 

In internal organization, the state legislature resembles 
Congress. Except that the lieutenant governor is often the 
presiding officer of the senate, each house chooses all of its 
own officers. Each house determines its own rules of pro¬ 
cedure and keeps a journal of its proceedings. In addition, 
each house exercises the right of deciding upon the qualifica¬ 
tions of its members, and disciplines and punishes its mem¬ 
bers for misconduct. As in the national legislature, work is 
expedited by the committee system. The party is a dominant 
force in the state as well as in the national legislature. 

Powers of the state legislature. — The law-making powers 
of the state legislature extend to practically all subj ects. The 
presumption is that this body has a right to legislate upon 
any subject, unless specific prohibitions have been imposed 
upon it by either the federal or the state constitution. 

The federal Constitution forbids any state legislature to 
issue bills of credit, coin money, or pass laws impairing the 


314 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


obligation of contracts. Neither bills of attainder nor ex post 
facto legislation may be enacted by a state legislature. The 
federal Constitution likewise declares that state legislatures 
may neither abridge the privileges and immunities of citizens 
of the United States, nor deprive persons of life, liberty, or 
property without due process of law. No state may deny 
to any person within the state jurisdiction the equal protec¬ 
tion of the laws. 

Restrictions imposed by the state constitution fall into 
several groups. These include restrictions in favor of trial by 
jury, religious freedom, and other privileges usually embodied 
in a bill of rights; provisions controlling the grant of special 
favors to corporations; restrictions upon the financial powers 
of the state legislature; provisions defining the framework of 
state government; and prohibitions upon the power of the 
legislature to pass special and local laws. 1 

How a state law is made. — Bills may originate in either 
house of the state legislature, except that in most states 
money bills must originate in the lower chamber. 

To illustrate law-making in the state legislature, let us 
assume that a bill is introduced in the lower house. This may 
be done by any one of several methods. Any member of the 
house may deposit a bill in a box near the speaker’s desk. 
Sometimes a bill is introduced by the report of a committee, 
or even by a messenger from the senate. When the bill has 
been introduced, it is given a first reading. With the consent 
of the house, the speaker then refers the measure to the ap¬ 
propriate committee. The adverse report of the committee 
generally kills the bill; but if the bill is favorably reported, 
and this report is approved by the house, the bill is placed on 
the order of second reading and is debated section by section, 
unless by unanimous vote it is advanced to the third reading. 
If the bill passes the second reading, it is generally referred to 

1 A special or local law is one which applies to some particular in¬ 
dividual or corporation, or to some particular city, county, or other local¬ 
ity. Prohibitions upon special and local laws are necessary in order to 
prevent the legislature from extending special favors to particular indi¬ 
viduals or localities. 



















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STATE GOVERNMENT 


315 


the committee on revision. It is then engrossed, reported 
back to the house for the third reading and the final vote. 
Sometimes the yeas and nays of this final vote are entered 
upon the journal, so that responsibility may be fixed upon 
each member. 

The bill then goes to the senate, where the procedure is 
very much like that of the house, except that the committee 
of the whole sometimes takes the place of the order of the 
second reading as conducted in the house. 

The bill goes to the governor. — In every state except 
North Carolina, a bill which has passed both branches of the 
legislature must then go to the governor for approval. If 
this officer signs it, it becomes law. If he disapproves of it, 
he returns it with his objections to the house in which it origi¬ 
nated. In spite of this objection by the governor the legisla¬ 
ture may enact the measure into law, if a sufficiently large 
majority in each house votes in favor of the bill. This ma¬ 
jority is usually two-thirds of the members in each house. 

Generally the governor has a ten-day period in which to 
consider bills. If a bill is not returned to the legislature with 
his objections within this period, it automatically becomes 
law without his signature, unless the adjournment of the leg¬ 
islature prevents its return to that body. In most states the 
governor has the important privilege of vetoing particular 
items in appropriation bills, while sanctioning the rest of the 
measure. 

Defects in state legislation. — There is, among students of 
American government, a general agreement that the legisla¬ 
tive procedure of the various states evidences a number of 
serious defects. 

One of these defects is the absence of responsibility. Any 
member of the state legislature may introduce as many bills 
as he likes, but he need not assume responsibility for any 
of them. 

Another serious evil is the lack of experience and technical 
skill on the part of legislators. Legislators are frequently 
ignorant of the subject matter with which they are called 


316 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


upon to deal. There is a tendency for legislators to ignore the 
effect of a new statute upon the existing body of law. Nor 
is the constitutionality of the measure contemplated always 
taken into account. Ill-advised and pernicious legislation is 
the result. 

Log-rolling and lobbying constitute another defect of state 
legislation. Log-rolling leads to the passage of numerous bills 
without their adequate scrutiny by individual members, and 
without either individual members or legislative committees 
assuming responsibility for those measures. The pressure 
exerted upon state legislatures for legislation favoring special 
interests is great. 

The reform of legislative procedure. — A few states have 
attempted to overcome the lack of technical information on 
the part of legislators by providing for expert bill drafters. 
In New York, for example, the state legislature has been 
provided with a number of competent bill drafters whose duty 
it shall be, during the session of the legislature, to draw bills, 
examine and revise proposed bills, and advise as to the legal 
effect of any legislation. These bill drafters may be set to 
work on the request of either house, or of a committee, mem¬ 
ber, or officer thereof. 

A large number of states now have a legislative reference 
bureau which keeps a careful record of the laws passed in the 
various states of the Union. This bureau maintains a library, 
and issues bulletins for the guidance of legislators. 

In 1909 Wisconsin created the office of reviser. This officer 
keeps a loose-leaf system of laws, and collects court decisions 
affecting statutes. At the beginning of each session this 
officer also presents to the committees on revision of each 
house of the legislature bills providing for such consolidation 
and revisions as may be completed from time to time. The 
reviser supervises the preparation, printing, and binding of 
such compilations of particular portions of the statutes as 
may be ordered by the head of any state department. 


STATE GOVERNMENT 


317 


E. State Courts 

English common law. — One important source of our sys¬ 
tem of jurisprudence is the English common law. This law 
is not found in the enactment of statutes, but consists of court 
decisions spread over several centuries. The common law has 
been defined as “that rule of civil conduct which originated in 
the common wisdom and experience of society/’ and which 
“in time became an established custom, and has finally re¬ 
ceived judicial sanction and affirmance in the decisions of the 
courts of last resort.” 1 The common law began its develop¬ 
ment in early England, and with the settlement of America 
was transplanted to this country. Though radically modified 
by American constitutional and statutory enactments it still 
remains the basis of our legal system. 

Statutes. — Another important source of law is the statutes 
enacted by the state legislature. Most state laws relate to 
the structure and functions of government, but statutory 
enactment is also employed to regulate a few branches of 
private law, including principally matters which affect the 
public at large as well as private individuals. Examples are 
laws relating to wills and succession to property, marriage and 
divorce, partnerships, and corporations. 

The scope of the statutes is widening, and during the last 
half century several fields of the common law have been 
covered by statute. Criminal law, criminal procedure, and 
civil procedure have been codified in various states. Some 
states have attempted to codify the entire civil law, but ex¬ 
perience has proved that this may easily render the law too 
rigid. 

Other sources of law. — The state constitution, the fed¬ 
eral Constitution, and federal laws and treaties with foreign 
countries are other sources of state law. 

In summary, the various kinds of law which are enforceable 
in the state courts may be considered as forming a pyramid, 

1 W. C. Robinson, quoted in Government and Politics in the United 
States, by W. B. Guitteau, Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, 1920, 


318 


PRINCIPLES. OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


built upward by the following steps: English common law, 
state statutes, the state constitution, federal statutes, trea¬ 
ties with foreign nations, and the federal Constitution. 

The justice of the peace. — State courts are arranged in 
a progressive series. At the bottom of this series is the 
justice of the peace, who exercises jurisdiction over petty 
offenses and over civil cases involving very small amounts. 
Generally there is a justice of the peace in each township or 
other local district. In large cities the civil and criminal ju¬ 
risdiction of the justice of the peace is usually divided between 
two sets of courts: first, the municipal or city courts, with 
a minor civil jurisdiction; and second, the police or magis¬ 
trates’ courts with jurisdiction over petty criminal offenses. 
The police or magistrates’ courts have the power to make 
preliminary investigations in case of felonies or serious mis¬ 
demeanors. 

The county courts. — Above the justices of the peace there 
are, in most states, a number of county courts, exercising 
limited jurisdiction. These courts, sometimes called courts 
of common pleas or district courts, have jurisdiction over 
civil cases involving considerable sums, as well as jurisdiction 
over most criminal offenses. In addition these courts usually 
consider appeals from the judgments of justices of the 
peace. 

Superior or circuit courts. — In many states there is a 
superior, circuit, or district court immediately above the 
county courts, though in some states this tribunal takes the 
place of the county courts. The superior court has jurisdic¬ 
tion over civil cases involving unlimited sums, as well as un¬ 
limited original jurisdiction over criminal matters. It may 
also try all cases over which the lower courts have no juris¬ 
diction. 

The supreme court. — At the head of the state judicial 
system there is a court of last resort, known in various states 
by different names. It may be called the court of appeals, 
the court of errors and appeals, or simply the supreme court. 
Practically all of the cases coming before this court are ap- 


STATE GOVERNMENT 319 

pealed from the lower courts. Ordinarily it deals with points 
of law rather than of fact. 

Special courts. — In addition to the regular state courts 
there are sometimes special tribunals for special purposes. 



Our System of Courts 

This is a general diagram intended to show the typical courts. In what respect does it 
correctly represent the courts in your state? Explain how a case, originating in a justice 
of the peace court, might finally reach the Supreme Court of the United States. 

Examples of such courts are the probate or surrogates’ courts 
for the settlement of the estates of deceased persons; chil¬ 
dren’s courts for the treatment of cases involving children; 
courts of domestic relations; and courts of claims for hearing 
claims against the state. 

State judges. — In almost all of the states judges are 
chosen by popular vote, though in half a dozen states the 
choice of these officials still lies with the legislature or with 
the governor, or with both acting jointly. Judges of the 
higher state courts are generally chosen for a long period of 
time, even for life, while the judges of the lower courts are 
chosen for relatively short periods. Salaries vary from prac¬ 
tically nothing but fee money for some justices of the peace to 





















320 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


an average of $7,000 a year for justices of the supreme court. 
The qualifications imposed upon judges include a minimum 
age of 25 to 35 years, and citizenship for a varying period of 
years. Another common requirement is residence within the 
state, or even residence within the judicial district. For 
judges of the higher courts it is the custom to demand mem¬ 
bership in the legal profession. Judges may be removed by 
impeachment, and, in a few states, by use of the recall. 

Other court officials. — The district or prosecuting at¬ 
torney is an important official. Generally he is chosen by 
the voters of the county, though in some instances he is 
elected from larger areas. The district attorney represents 
the state in all criminal cases, and conducts the prosecution. 
This officer conducts a preliminary investigation into crimes 
and determines whether or not a prosecution should be insti¬ 
tuted. If the decision is in the affirmative, he presents the 
case to the grand jury. If the grand jury returns an indict¬ 
ment, that is, if it demands that the accused be held for trial, 
the prosecuting attorney conducts the prosecution at the 
ensuing trial. 

The clerk, or recording officer, is generally appointed by 
the court, though he may be elected by popular vote. The 
constable or sheriff is elected by popular vote. The clerk 
and the constable are charged with the execution of all 
orders, judgments, and decrees of the court. 

Relation of state to federal courts. — The framework of 
American government includes a dual system of courts, 
the federal courts and the state courts. The jurisdiction of 
the federal courts is specifically defined by the federal Con¬ 
stitution, while the state courts have a jurisdiction which is 
limited only by the prohibitions of the state and federal 
Constitutions. The two systems of courts are independent 
in the exercise of their respective powers, and have separate 
jurisdictions. In some cases, however, the state courts have 
a concurrent jurisdiction with the federal courts, and a 
litigant has a choice of tribunals before which to bring suit. 
In most suits the decision of the state supreme court is 


STATE GOVERNMENT 


321 


final, but cases involving federal law may be appealed 
for final decision to the Supreme Court of the United 
States. 

Civil procedure. — The jurisdiction of the state courts is 
both civil and criminal. Civil suits usually involve questions 
of property. The person who feels that he has suffered an 
injury files suit in the proper court. The sheriff or constable 
then summons the defendant to appear in court, and the 
clerk of the court issues a summons or subpoena to all wit¬ 
nesses which either party to the suit desires to have testify. 
Generally either party may demand a trial by jury. Both 
plaintiff and defendant are ordinarily represented by counsel 
which present the different sides of the case to the judge and 
jury. The judge decides what evidence may be properly 
presented to the jury. After the closing argument of the 
plaintiff’s counsel, the judge instructs the jury on the legal 
points involved in the case. The jury then retires and at¬ 
tempts to reach a unanimous decision. If able so to agree, 
it returns a verdict for either plaintiff or defendant, and 
after the verdict has been accepted by the court, judgment 
is rendered. If the jurors have been unable to come to a 
unanimous decision, the case is ordinarily tried with another 
jury, though in a few states a unanimous verdict in civil 
cases is not required. 

If the decision of the court is accepted as final, the judg¬ 
ment is enforced. On the other hand, the dissatisfied party 
may appeal the case to the next higher court on the ground 
that the verdict was contrary to the weight of evidence, or 
because of errors of law committed by the judge. Under 
certain circumstances the judge who tries the case may be 
induced to grant a new trial. 

Criminal jurisdiction. — The purpose of criminal law is 
to punish those who have committed public wrongs, i.e., 
wrongs against the state or community. Crimes are of two 
types: first, felonies, including such grave offenses as murder, 
arson, burglary, and larceny; and second, misdemeanors, 
including such lesser offenses as bribery, knowingly re- 


322 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


ceiving stolen goods, libel, assault and battery, and dis¬ 
turbance of the peace. Usually felonies are punished either 
by death or by a long prison sentence. Misdemeanors are 
ordinarily punished by fines or by imprisonment for a short 
term. 

Criminal procedure. — A criminal proceeding usually be¬ 
gins with the arrest of the accused person. Generally, though 
not always, arrest is in pursuance of a warrant. As soon after 
arrest as possible, the accused is brought before a magistrate 
for a preliminary examination. If the examining magistrate 
finds that there is probable cause for holding him for trial, the 
accused is committed to jail to await trial. Unless the charge 
is murder, however, the defendant may be released on 
bail. 

If the charge is a serious one, indictment by the grand jury 
is the next step. If this jury decides that the evidence is in¬ 
sufficient, the charge is dismissed and the prisoner released. 
The grand jury meets in secret, and hears only the charges 
against the accused. These are generally presented by the 
prosecuting attorney. After the defendant is indicted, the 
prisoner is brought into court and allowed to plead. If he 
pleads guilty, the judge may forthwith impose sentence and 
there is no trial. If the plea is “not guilty,” a trial is ar¬ 
ranged, a jury of twelve persons impanelled, and the trial 
begins. 

The case is opened by the prosecuting attorney, since it is 
the duty of the state to assume the defendant innocent until 
he is proved guilty. The prosecuting attorney presents his 
witnesses, each of which the defendant’s attorney may cross- 
examine, and in turn allows the defendant’s attorney to pre¬ 
sent the defense. The prisoner is not questioned at any stage 
in the trial, unless he is willing to take the stand as a witness 
in his own behalf. 

After the prosecuting attorney and the defendant’s counsel 
have completed their case, the judge sums up the evidence 
brought out by each side, and instructs the jury as to the law 
involved. The jury then retires and attempts to reach a ver- 


STATE GOVERNMENT 


323 


diet. Generally such a verdict must be unanimous, and if this 
cannot be secured, the jury is dismissed and the case is held 
for re-trial. If the verdict is ‘‘not guilty,” the prisoner is 
discharged; if he is found guilty, sentence is imposed by the 
court, either immediately or at some future date. 

Activities and References 
Significant Words and Phrases 

Null and void, initiative, referendum, confirm, patronage, boards and com¬ 
missions, civil service, log-rolling, lobbying, legislative reference bureau, juris¬ 
prudence, common law, statute, proportional representation, recall , indictment, 
concurrent jurisdiction, litigant, plaintiff, verdict. 

Questions 

1. Mention five rights guaranteed by the typical state constitution. 

2. Mention five elements in the framework of government with which a 

state constitution usually deals. 

3. How do typical state constitutions place limitations upon the financial 

powers of the state legislature? 

4. How do state constitutions regulate economic interests within a state? 

5. What provisions do our state constitutions make for general welfare? 

6. Describe the three ways by which states may amend their constitutions. 

7. State the term, qualification, and salary of the typical governor. 

8. Under what three headings may the powers of the governor be classified? 

9. State five powers belonging to the governor. 

10. Mention three ways by which the governor may affect legislation. 

11. What judicial power has the governor? 

12. Within recent years there has been a tendency to increase the power 

of the governor. Explain why. 

13. Mention three factory which operate to limit the power of the governor. 

14. Into what two groups do the administrative officers other than the 

governor fall? 

15. What are some of the defects of state administration? 

16. Why do we have state Civil Service acts? For what do they usually 

provide? 

17. Describe the structure of the state legislature. 

18. What is the basis of representation in the state legislature? 

19. Compare the Senate and House as to number, qualifications, length 

of term, salary, and privileges. 

20. How does the organization of the state legislature compare with that 

of the national legislature? 


324 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


21. Mention five specific prohibitions which have been imposed upon the 

state legislatures by the federal Constitution. What restrictions are 
usually imposed upon legislatures by state constitutions? 

22. Recount the steps through which a bill passes in becoming a law. 

23. What are three serious defects in state legislation? 

24. What efforts have been made by various states to remedy these defects? 

25. What is meant by the term “common law”? 

26. Mention four kinds of law. 

27. Before what courts are petty offenders tried? 

28. Over what kinds of cases do county courts have jurisdiction? 

29. Over what kinds of cases do superior or circuit courts have jurisdiction? 

30. What court constitutes the head of the state judiciary? 

31. “A superior court deals with points of law rather than of fact.” 

Explain. 

32. Name some special state courts. 

33. How do judges usually secure offices? What are their qualifications? 

What are their terms of office? How may they be removed? 

34. What are the duties of the prosecuting attorney? 

35. How are the state and federal courts related to each other? 

36. What is a civil suit? How is it different from a criminal case? 

37. Recount the steps involved in civil procedure; in criminal procedure. 

38. What are two types of crime? How is each usually punished? 


Problems 

1. Problem: To learn some important facts about your state government. 
Method: Use a copy of your state constitution and complete the 
following table. 


Officer 

Age 

Qualifications 

Term 

Duties 







2. Problem: To learn the procedure of a criminal trial. Method: Stage a 
mock trial. Be sure that each pupil studies carefully and prepares well 
his part, such as judge, prosecuting attorney, witness, juror, plaintiff, 
defendant, or attorney-for-the-defense. 














STATE GOVERNMENT 


325 


3. Problem: To learn why state constitutions are longer than the federal 
Constitution. Method: Consult a book like Mathews, American State 
Government. (Can you suggest any reasons before you investigate?) 

4. Problem: To learn the relationship between your state government 
and the schools. Method: Consult your superintendent or principal 
and find out what percentage of school money comes from the state 
treasury and how much is raised by local taxation. 

References 

Bates and Field, State Government 
Magruder, American Government 
Mathews, American State Government 
Munro, American Government Today 

Spindt and Ryan, The Foundations of American Government 


CHAPTER XXVI 


MUNICIPAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

A. Municipal Government 

The three types of city government. — The three types of 
city government in the United States are the mayor-council, 
the commission, and the city manager. The commission plan 
is a new form of city government which has been designed to 
overcome the defects of the old mayor-council plan, while the 
city manager plan is a modification of the commission plan. 
Of recent years both the commission and the city manager 
plans have spread rapidly, and several large cities, for ex¬ 
ample, Cincinnati, now employ city managers. The old 
mayor-council plan, however, prevails in most American 
cities; consequently, some space should be devoted to a de¬ 
scription of this form of government. 

The city council: organization. — Usually the city council 
is a single-chambered body, though some of the larger cities 
have from time to time experimented with a double-cham¬ 
bered council. In some cities councilmen are chosen on a 
general ticket, but in most cases the council consists of one 
member from each ward or district into which the city is 
divided. Councilmen must be voters in the city in which 
they serve, and by custom they are generally required to be 
residents of the ward from which they are chosen. The 
terms of councilmen vary from one to four years, two years 
being the average term. In the smaller cities councilmen are 
usually unpaid, but in the larger municipalities they receive 
stated salary. 

The city council: powers. — The typical American city 
is dominated by the state legislature, the powers of city 

326 


MUNICIPAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 


327 


government being enumerated in a charter received from the 
legislature. These enumerated powers have been rather nar¬ 
rowly interpreted by the courts. 

The council has a measure of police power, which it may 
invoke to protect the health and to further the well-being of 
the city’s inhabitants. The exercise of this police power, 
however, must not conflict with state law. 

The council has the power to levy taxes to defray expenses 
incurred in performing municipal functions. State constitu¬ 
tions and legislatures limit this power rather narrowly, how¬ 
ever. Subject to a similar limitation is the council’s power to 
raise money through the issue of bonds. 

City councils may act as the agents of the state government 
in matters affecting education and charitable relief. 

The city council: procedure. — The city council meets 
periodically, generally weekly or bi-weekly. It determines its 
own rules of procedure and keeps a journal. The committee 
system is used for the dispatch of business. Ordinances may 
be proposed by any member of the council. After being 
introduced, ordinances are read by title and are referred to 
the proper committee. A second and a third reading at sub¬ 
sequent meetings are required. If the ordinance is approved 
by a majority of the council, it is signed by the presiding 
officer and sent to the mayor. In many cities the mayor 
may veto any ordinance passed by the council. In case of a 
veto the measure becomes law only if passed by a two- 
thirds — in some cities three-fourths or four-fifths — vote 
of the council. In those cities where the mayor has no veto 
power, the ordinance goes into effect immediately upon being 
passed by the council. 

The mayor. — In all cities where the mayor-council plan 
of government prevails, the chief executive officer is the 
mayor or chief magistrate. This officer is usually elected by 
popular vote, for a term varying from one to four years. 
Usually the term is two years, though in New England a 
one-year term is more common. The mayor is paid a salary 
which ranges from a few hundred dollars in the smaller cities 


328 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


to several thousands of dollars in a number of the larger 
municipalities. 

The mayor and the council. — It is the duty of the mayor 
to send at least once a year to the city council a general state¬ 
ment of the administrative activities and financial condi¬ 
tion of the city. The mayor may also recommend to the city 
council, in his annual message or otherwise, the passage of 
ordinances which he considers needful. In smaller cities and 
in a few of the larger municipalities, the mayor presides over 
the council and has a casting vote in case of a tie, but in most 
of the larger cities he is not a member of the council. In most 
cities he has the veto power. In many of the more recent city 
charters, the mayor is given the power to veto separate items 
in an appropriation bill, while approving the remainder of the 
measure, just as some governors may veto separate items in 
appropriations bills enacted by the state legislature. 

Administrative duties of the mayor. — The mayor stands 
at the head of the city administration, but the extent of his 
control varies from city to city. In the last half century the 
decline in popular favor of the city council has been accom¬ 
panied by a growing tendency to enlarge the administrative 
powers of the mayor. In many of the smaller cities the mayor 
is still little more than a presiding officer of the council. In 
such cities subordinate executive officials are usually chosen 
by popular vote or are appointed by the council. In other 
cities the mayor may appoint the chief administrative of¬ 
ficials, subject to the consent of the council. In still other 
cities, including many of the larger municipalities, the mayor 
may both appoint and remove the heads of the executive 
departments, without interference on the part of the council. 

Other administrative officials. — Such highly complex and 
important matters as health, education, parks, charities, 
police, fire protection, and public works are the concern of the 
numerous administrative officials of the city. Administrative 
work is carried on by two methods; first, the board system, in 
which such concerns as schools, public health, and police are 
managed by boards composed of members of the city council; 


MUNICIPAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 


329 


and second, single commissioners, who are more or less under 
the control of the mayor. The board system has proved less 
efficient than the single commissioner plan, and accordingly 
there is a tendency to abandon the former for the latter plan. 

B. County Government 

Why county government developed in the South. — The 
system of county government became firmly intrenched in 
the Southern colonies. Four factors operated to encourage 
its development in the South. First, the Southern col¬ 
onists came as individuals and from different classes of so¬ 
ciety. Second, the Indians of the South were either weak or 
peaceful, so that fear of Indian attack did not oblige the 
colonists to congregate in small, compact communities. 
Third, the climate and soil of the South encouraged a planta¬ 
tion system which resulted in a sparse rather than in a com¬ 
pact population. Fourth, the aristocratic type of society 
developing from the plantation and slave system prevented 
the rise of the democratic town meeting. 

Government of the Southern county. — Though county 
government is also found in the Southwest and Far West, it 
is seen in its purest form in the South. Here the county was 
originally a judicial district, and in some cases a financial dis¬ 
trict to facilitate the collection of taxes. The functions of the 
county have gradually increased until such local affairs as 
schools, jails, poorhouses, and the maintenance of roads and 
bridges are concerns of the Southern county. The chief ad¬ 
ministrative authority in the county is either the county 
court or a small board of commissioners. In either case the 
administrative authority is chosen by popular vote. In addi¬ 
tion there are a number of minor officers such as the treasurer, 
tax assessor, and recorder, all of them chosen by popular vote 
for terms varying from one to four years. 

Government of the Far Western county. — In the Far 
West, likewise, the most important unit of rural local gov¬ 
ernment is the county. The county is governed by a board, 


330 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


usually consisting of three commissioners. In general the 
officers of the Far Western county resemble those in the 
Central States. 


C. Town Government 

Nature of the town. — The basis of rural local govern¬ 
ment in New England is the town. In general the New Eng¬ 
land town is an irregularly shaped area, varying in size from 
twenty to forty-five square miles. The area comprising the 
typical town is primarily rural, and generally contains one or 
more villages. Although the town is primarily a rural unit, 
the villages within its bounds may be so populous as to be 
classed as cities. Yet these populous communities may, as 
in the case of Brookline, Massachusetts, retain the town 
government. Other New England cities, such as New Haven 
and Hartford, Connecticut, have continued the town organ¬ 
ization separate from the city government. 

Town government. — The government of the New Eng¬ 
land town is vested in a town meeting, which consists of an 
annual session of the voters of the town. At this meeting 
the voters enact laws governing such local matters as town 
finance, schools, police, and highways. A second important 
function of the town meeting is to choose the town officers, 
including the selectmen, the town clerk, treasurer, constable, 
and others. The chief executive officers are the selectmen, 
varying in number from three to nine, and generally chosen 
for the term of one year. The selectmen have general charge 
of town affairs, and act under authority conferred by statute 
or by the town meeting. The town clerk keeps the records, 
the treasurer has charge of the funds of the town and some¬ 
times audits accounts, while the constable keeps the peace of 
the town, serves writs, and collects local taxes. In addition 
there are a number of minor officials, such as tax assessors, 
pound-keepers, guardians of the poor, highway officials, and 
library trustees. 


MUNICIPAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 


331 


D. The Township-County Type 

Origin of the mixed type. — The mixed type of rural 
local government is a hybrid, the result of the incomplete 
fusion of the town type with the county type. The northern 
parts of the Central states were settled largely by immigrants 
from New England, while the southern portions of the Mid¬ 
dle West were settled by pioneers from Pennsylvania and 
the states south of the Ohio River. The New England immi¬ 
grants were used to town government, and endeavored to 
perpetuate it in their new home; the settlers from the South 
preferred the county form of government, and sought its 
adoption in their new homes. The result in the Middle West 
was a compromise, some functions of rural local government 
being assigned to the county and some to the township. 

The two sub-types. — In the fusion of the town and county 
types of government the county system tended to predom¬ 
inate over the town or township form of government when 
settlers from the South were in the maj ority. In the northern 
section of the country, on the other hand, the compromise 
form tended to include a majority of the features of the town 
type. The result was the formation of two sub-types. 

The first of these may be called the Pennsylvania sub-type, 
so named because it originated in Pennsylvania, and then 
spread, with modifications, to Ohio, Indiana, Kansas, Mis¬ 
souri, and other states. In these states the town or township 
authority is subordinated to the county government. There 
is no town meeting. 

The New York sub-type exists in typical form in New 
York, but is also found in New Jersey, Michigan, Illinois, 
Wisconsin, Minnesota, the Dakotas, and other states. The 
town meeting is found in these states, and in five of them the 
townships are represented on the county board. 

The New York sub-type. — In states possessing the New 
York sub-type of rural local government, the town meeting 
is still important. This meeting is similar to the New Eng¬ 
land town meeting, though it exercises less authority. All 


332 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


the legal voters of the township are qualified to take part in 
this meeting, which is held annually and on special occasions. 
At this meeting are chosen township officers for the following 
year. The most important of these are the supervisor, clerk, 
treasurer, assessor, and a varying number of constables and 
justices of the peace. In addition to electing these and other 
officers, the town meeting enacts legislation with regard to 
such local matters as bridges, roads, and schools. 

In some of the Central states general executive authority 
over township affairs is vested in a township board, while in 
other states administrative authority is divided between a 
township board of from three to eleven members, and a super¬ 
visor or trustee. Besides these officials, there are a number of 
minor officers, including a clerk, a treasurer, an assessor, 
overseers of the poor, constables, and justices of the peace. 

The county board continues to exist under the New York 
plan, but it is far less important than under the Pennsylvania 
sub-type. The functions of the county board are similar in 
these two sub-types. 

The Pennsylvania sub-type. — In those states in which 
the Pennsylvania sub-type of rural local government prevails, 
general control of government is vested in a county board. 
This board is composed of three commissioners, who are 
elected by the voters of the county. In all of the Central 
states the county board possesses numerous powers, but the 
powers of the board are greater under the Pennsylvania than 
under the New York sub-type. Under the former plan the 
county board exercises four groups of powers: first, the 
levying of taxes and the appropriation of local funds; second, 
the maintenance of roads; third, poor-relief; and fourth, the 
supervision of local elections. 

Besides the members of the county board there are a num¬ 
ber of other county officials. The chief executive officer of the 
county court is the sheriff. The prosecuting attorney is an 
elective official, whose duty it is to conduct criminal prosecu¬ 
tions, and to act as the legal agent of the county. The 
treasurer has charge of county funds, and sometimes super- 


MUNICIPAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 


333 


vises the collection of taxes. He is elected by the people, 
generally for a two-year term. The clerk or auditor is an 
important county officer, as are the surveyor, the county 
superintendent of schools, and the recorder or register of 
deeds. 

Home rule for counties. — Generally, county authorities 
are narrowly limited by the state constitution and state 
statutes. This has resulted in numerous appeals to the 
legislature for special legislation, and has lately given rise 
to a demand for home rule for counties. In the effort to 
reduce the pressure for special laws in the legislature, the 
Michigan constitution of 1908 provided for a measure of 
home rule for counties. The legislature is authorized to 
confer legislative powers on the county boards, which may 
pass laws and ordinances relative to purely local affairs, 
provided such enactments do not conflict with state law, and 
provided, further, that such enactments do not interfere with 
the local affairs of any township, incorporated city, or village 
within the limits of the county. Such laws may be vetoed by 
the governor, but may be passed over his veto by a two- 
thirds vote of the county board. Another step toward home 
rule was taken when in 1911 California by constitutional 
amendment empowered counties to frame their own charters, 
and, on securing popular approval, to put the same into 
effect. However, the charter thus framed and approved must 
first be sanctioned by the state legislature. 

Activities and References 
Significant Words and Phrases 

Municipal government, mayor-council plan, commission plan, city manager 
plan, charter, ordinance, commissioner, county, town meeting, selectmen, 
sub-type, home rule. 

Questions 

1. What are the three types of municipal government? Which of these 

types prevails in most American cities? 

2. Describe the organization of the city council. 


334 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


3. Name five powers of the city council. 

4. Trace the steps in the making of an ordinance. 

5. What is the usual term of office of the mayor? How does he secure 

office? 

6. What is the relation of the mayor to the council? 

7. What are the chief administrative duties of the mayor? 

8. By what two methods is administrative work usually carried on? 

9. Give four reasons why county government developed in the South. 

10. Describe the government of a southern county. 

11. Describe the government of a western county. 

12. What is the basis of rural local government in New England? 

13. How is a New England town governed? 

14. How did the mixed type of rural local government originate? 

15. What two sub-types are included under the mixed type of rural local 

government? 

16. Compare these two sub-types. 

17. Describe the movement to permit home rule to counties. 

Problems 

1. Problem: To understand the form of government in your town or 
city. Method: Construct a diagram showing which officers are elected 
and which are appointed. What are the powers of the mayor or 
manager? 

2. Problem: To understand the changed importance of counties. Method: 
Consider the original purpose of small counties and the recent develop¬ 
ments in communication and transportation. A county in Georgia 
has recently been abolished. Can you explain why? 

3. Problem: To learn the functions of townships in your state. Method: 
Consult your state constitution or a book on local government and 
list the township officers, their qualifications, and their duties. 


References 

Magruder, American Government 
Mathews, American State Government 
Munro, American Government Today 

-, Government of American Cities 

Spindt and Ryan, Foundations of American Government 
Williamson, Readings in American Democracy 



CHAPTER XXVII 


WHO SHALL SHARE IN GOVERNMENT? 

Citizenship and suffrage. — Citizenship implies member¬ 
ship in a nation. A citizen owes allegiance to his government, 
and in return is entitled to the fundamental advantages of 
organized government, such as the protection of life, liberty, 
and property at home and abroad. Suffrage, on the other 
hand, is the privilege of sharing in government by the ex¬ 
ercise of the vote. Most voters are also citizens, but less than 
half of the citizens of the United States are voters. National 
citizenship is determined by the federal authorities, the 
Constitution declaring that all persons born or naturalized 
in the United States are citizens thereof. The suffrage is a 
privilege which is controlled by the individual states, subject 
to certain regulations imposed by the federal government. 

Significance of the suffrage. — In a representative democ¬ 
racy such as the United States, the question of the suffrage is 
of fundamental importance. Public officials are agents who 
have been chosen to administer the affairs of government. 
Every public official in the United States is either chosen 
directly by the people, or is chosen by agents who themselves 
have been selected at the polls. The right to vote is thus the 
right to share in the control of government. Not only are 
voters making rules and regulations for their own govern¬ 
ment, but they are governing those citizens to whom the 
suffrage has not been extended. It is because of this double 
responsibility resting upon the American voter that a funda¬ 
mental problem of effective government is concerned with 
the suffrage. 

Suffrage in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. — 
In colonial times the American suffrage was narrowly re- 

335 


336 PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 

stricted. Though the theory that all men were free and equal 
was known in political circles, the actual conduct of govern¬ 
ment was largely in the hands of the propertied classes. With 
a few exceptions, no Negro was allowed to vote. As a general 
rule, women were also debarred from the suffrage. Even 
white adults were denied the exercise of the suffrage unless 
they could meet certain property and religious qualifications. 

The Declaration of Independence laid emphasis upon the 
principle that governments derive their just powers from the 
consent of the governed. Nevertheless this principle was not 
held to apply to the internal politics of the American states, 
and so there was at that time no widespread feeling that all 
adults had an equal right to share in government. In an 
important sense, the American Revolution was fought to 
maintain the principle that England could not govern the 
colonies without their consent. But here again it should be 
noted that none of the states that won independence inter¬ 
preted that principle to mean that all of their free adult citi¬ 
zens had a right to govern themselves through the vote. 
Colonial standards of suffrage were largely carried over into 
our earlier national history, and in 1789 probably less than 
five per cent of the American people were voters. Interpreted 
in terms of the suffrage, American democracy was still very 
narrowly restricted. 

Suffrage as a natural right. — According to the doctrine 
of natural rights, all men are born free and equal, and are 
entitled to certain fundamental rights of which they may 
not be deprived. Many of the colonists were familiar with 
this theory, but not until after 1800 did it constitute an 
important basis for maintaining that all adult white males 
were entitled to the suffrage. After the opening of the 
nineteenth century, however, it was more common for 
property less men to maintain that just as they had a natural 
right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, so they had 
a natural right to the suffrage. The principle that govern¬ 
ments derive their just powers from the consent of the 
governed was by many interpreted to mean that men possess- 


WHO SHALL SHARE IN GOVERNMENT? 


337 


ing property had no right to govern men who could not meet 
the property qualifications accompanying the suffrage. The 
cry of “No taxation without representation,” was also 
raised in the interests of white adult males who paid taxes, 
but who were not allowed to vote. 

Extension of the suffrage in the nineteenth century. — 
During the first three-quarters of the nineteenth century, the 
suffrage widened steadily. Religious qualifications practi¬ 
cally disappeared before 1850. After a long drawn out 
struggle most of the eastern states practically eliminated the 
property qualification from their suffrage laws. This change 
was due, in large part, to the influence of the doctrine of 
natural rights. There were additional factors, of course. In 
many places along the Atlantic seaboard, for example, the 
extension of the suffrage was somewhat in response to the 
influence of the doctrine of natural rights, but it was also 
partly due to the economic pressure exerted by the increasing 
number of landless laborers who were crowding into the man¬ 
ufacturing cities and towns. 

The extension of the suffrage during this period is closely 
associated with the development of the West. Whereas the 
eastern states removed property and religious qualifications 
only after a struggle, many western states imposed few or 
no restrictions upon the suffrage, but from the start were 
committed to the principle of equality at the polls. The 
doctrine that governments derive their just powers from the 
consent of the governed was popular in the West; indeed, it 
was here that the doctrine was first applied to the problem 
of suffrage in a definite and practical manner. In the more 
sparsely settled portions of the country, able-bodied men 
were more important than social distinctions and religious 
ties, so much so, in fact, that some of the western states 
attracted settlers by giving the vote to aliens who had an¬ 
nounced their intention of becoming citizens. After the 
Civil War some of the southern states made similar advances 
to European immigrants. 

Following the Civil War the suffrage movement was pro- 


338 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


foundly affected by the Negro question. The Thirteenth 
Amendment, adopted in 1865, had merely abolished slavery. 
In the subsequent discussion over the status of the Negro, 
some white men held that the theory of natural rights entitled 
the freed Negroes to the suffrage. This view was opposed by 
many, particularly in the South. Nevertheless, in 1868 the 
Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution provided that 
any state denying any of its male adult citizens the right to 
vote might suffer a reduction in its congressional representa¬ 
tion. Two years later (1870) the Fifteenth Amendment went 
a step further, and declared that the right of citizens of the 
United States to vote might not be denied or abridged on 
account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 

The nineteenth century also witnessed an increased interest 
in woman suffrage. The proposition was not unknown even 
in colonial times, but the earlier state constitutions and 
statutes had almost invariably excluded women from the 
vote. After the middle of the century the woman suffrage 
movement grew rapidly, stimulated, to a considerable extent, 
by the movement for abolition and Negro suffrage. In 1852 
Susan B. Anthony assumed leadership of the woman suffrage 
movement, and in 1875 she drafted a proposed amendment 
to the federal Constitution which would provide for woman 
suffrage throughout the country. The territory of Wyoming 
had extended women full suffrage in 1869, and a decade later 
the right to vote in school elections had been extended the 
women of Michigan, Minnesota, and several other states. 
By 1896 Colorado, Idaho, and Utah had extended full suf¬ 
frage to women. 

Decline of the natural rights theory. — During the latter 
half of the nineteenth century the doctrine of natural rights 
was of declining importance as a basis of the suffrage. The 
doctrine was illogical, for not even its most ardent advocates 
would go so far as to maintain that paupers and mental de¬ 
fectives had an inherent right to vote. Nor did anyone claim 
that persons under twenty-one years of age had such a right. 

As time went on, the connection between the suffrage and 


WHO SHALL SHARE IN GOVERNMENT? 


339 


the doctrine of natural rights seemed more and more remote. 
Men came gradually to believe that the suffrage was not a 
right but a privilege , and that the capacity of the individual 
to use the vote in the public interest was the factor which 
should determine whether or not he should enjoy the suffrage. 
This changed viewpoint reflected itself in several important 
shifts in the suffrage movement. 

Shifts in the suffrage movement. — To a considerable 
extent the decline of the doctrine of natural rights was accom¬ 
panied by increased restrictions upon the right to vote. We 
have noted that many western and a few southern states 
formerly made a practice of extending the vote to aliens who 
had announced their intention of becoming citizens. After 
the seventies there was a tendency for such states to withdraw 
this privilege, and to make citizenship a prerequisite to 
voting. One reason for this changed attitude was that as 
time went on immigrant labor was less in demand in the 
West and South. Still another factor, however, was the 
abuse of the ballot among unassimilated immigrant groups 
in our cities. 

After the middle of the nineteenth century, there was a 
growing feeling, originating in New England and spreading 
westward, that illiterate voters were a menace to sound gov¬ 
ernment. Accordingly, educational tests were imposed in 
a number of states. These tests generally require voters to 
be able to read and write. 

The enfranchisement of the Negro was followed by re¬ 
action. The exercise of the suffrage by ignorant Negroes 
suddenly admitted to full suffrage resulted in gross abuses 
of political power. As a result many southern states eventu¬ 
ally passed laws which virtually deny the vote to the larger 
part of the possible Negro electorate. In some cases white 
election officials administer the educational test so strictly 
as to exclude most Negroes. In other cases a property or 
poll tax qualification has been used to exclude large groups of 
shiftless Negroes. 

On the other hand, the cause of woman suffrage was 


340 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


greatly stimulated by the decline of the doctrine of natural 
rights and the rise of the theory that civic capacity should 
determine the suffrage. Particularly after 1900 did the agita¬ 
tion take on national importance. A national Woman Suf¬ 
frage Association was organized, and powerful pressure was 
brought to bear upon persons of political influence. Between 
1910 and 1912 Washington, California, Oregon, Kansas, and 
Arizona were won to the cause of woman suffrage. Finally 
in August, 1920, the amendment which Miss Anthony had 
drafted in 1875 was ratified and declared in force. Women 
are now allowed the vote on the same terms as men. 

Present restrictions on the right to vote. — The suffrage 
in the several states at the present time may be summarized 
as follows: 

In every state voters must be at least twenty-one years of 
age. In a few states the vote is extended to aliens who have 
declared their intention of becoming citizens. In every state 
a period of residence is required of voters, the usual period 
being between six months and a year. Educational qualifica¬ 
tions are imposed in about a third of the states. A number of 
southern and a few northern states require voters to be as¬ 
sessed for a poll tax. In practically every state such abnor¬ 
mal persons as the feeble-minded, the insane, paupers in 
institutions, and certain types of criminals are excluded from 
the suffrage. Untaxed Indians, and foreign-born Chinese and 
Japanese do not enjoy the suffrage. 

Present status of the suffrage movement. — The suffrage 
movement as such is practically a dead issue. Nearly all 
who by any logic should be allowed to vote are allowed to do 
so. The problem has shifted from a struggle to secure the 
privilege to one of persuading those who have the privilege to 
exercise it. It is true that in 1928 there were 36,724,000 votes 
cast for the presidential candidates, but this represents little 
more than fifty per cent of the potential voters. An il¬ 
lustration will show how varied is the exercise of the priv¬ 
ilege of voting. Two states, A and B, have approximately 
equal populations. In the presidential election of 1928 there 


WHO SHALL SHARE IN GOVERNMENT? 


341 


were 1,415,000 votes cast in the state of A; in B with nearly 
the same population there were only 193,000, less than one- 
seventh as many as in A. Whatever be the explanation, 
these facts illustrate that not all potential voters are actual 
voters. 

The suffrage is a privilege and not a right. — The signifi¬ 
cance of the difference between citizenship and the suffrage 
should be clearly understood. Citizenship is a fundamental 
matter. In return for allegiance to his government, the 
citizen may be considered as being entitled to that measure 
of protection which is deemed necessary to his safety and 
well-being. But though we speak loosely of the “right” of 
suffrage, the suffrage is a privilege, not a right. The indi¬ 
vidual cannot claim it as a corollary of citizenship. Nor does 
mere residence in a democratic country entitle the individual 
to the ballot. The safety and well-being of the citizen are not 
necessarily dependent upon his exercise of the vote. Indeed, 
incapable persons may be better off if they are excluded from 
the suffrage, provided, of course, that the voting class holds 
itself responsible for the government of the excluded groups. 
Fitness alone justifies the suffrage. 

What constitutes fitness? — The ballot cannot be exer¬ 
cised by the unfit without endangering the whole fabric of 
government. But what is the standard of fitness? The his¬ 
tory of the suffrage in the United States throws some light 
upon this question. In colonial times the plea of the proper¬ 
tied classes was that fitness was primarily a matter of racial 
origin, the ownership of property, or church affiliation. Ac¬ 
cording to the theory of natural rights, fitness was vaguely 
associated with manhood and citizenship. More recently we 
have come to believe that while many factors influence the 
capacity of the voter, such factors as religion, racial origin, 
and ownership of substantial amounts of property, are not 
vital. A definite standard of fitness has never been estab¬ 
lished, but at least we can say that fitness means both the 
desire and the capacity to serve the state by an honest and 
intelligent use of the ballot. 


342 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


Problem of an intelligent electorate. — The problem of 
building up an intelligent electorate gives rise to two addi¬ 
tional questions: First, how may the enfranchised classes be 
trained to a full realization of their civic responsibilities? 
Second, to what extent is intelligent voting dependent upon 
actual exercise of the suffrage? The first question has been 
treated elsewhere, and we may close this chapter with a 
brief consideration of the second question. 

It is maintained by some that no one should be admitted 
to the suffrage who has not first demonstrated his capacity 
to use the vote intelligently. Others reply that this capacity 
comes only through actual exercise of the vote. The solution 
of this problem probably lies in a judicious combination of 
theory and practice. A boy cannot learn to swim by standing 
on the bank and forever listening to theoretical instruction; 
on the other hand, it may prove fatal to push him into deep 
water without preparation for that step. Instruction and 
practice must go hand in hand, wisely interwoven and har¬ 
monized. Similarly, it would seem, one way to secure an 
intelligent electorate is to admit individuals to the suffrage 
only when they demonstrate a minimum capacity for civic 
service, but at the same time to recognize that full moral 
development can come only through actual exercise of the 
vote. 


Activities and References 

Significant Words and Phrases 

Citizenship, suffrage, privilege, right, representative democracy, administer, 
property qualification, religious qualifications, natural right, prerequisite, 
potential voters, electorate. 

Questions 

1. Distinguish between citizenship and the suffrage. 

2. Why is the suffrage important in a representative democracy? 

3. Discuss the suffrage in colonial times. 

4. What was the probable extent of the suffrage in 1789? 

5. What is the doctrine of natural rights? 

6. How was this doctrine applied to the question of the suffrage? 


WHO SHALL SHARE IN GOVERNMENT? 343 

7. Why was the suffrage in the eastern states widened in the nineteenth 

century? 

8. Discuss the suffrage in the new West. 

9. Describe the enfranchisement of the Negro. 

10. Outline the early development of the woman suffrage movement. 

11. Discuss the decline of the natural rights theory. 

12. Outline some recent shifts in the suffrage movement. 

13. Enumerate the present restrictions on the right to vote. 

14. What is the present status of the suffrage movement? 

15. What is meant by saying that the suffrage is a privilege and not a 

right? 

16. What is meant by saying that “fitness” is the basis of the suffrage? 

17. What can be said as to the question of Negro suffrage? 

18. To what extent does intelligent voting depend upon actual exercise 

of the ballot? 

Problems 

1. Problem: To trace the growth in the number of voters. Method: Use 
the World Almanac and list the number of votes cast in various elec¬ 
tions. Explain why the number increased so remarkably in 1920. 

2. Problem: To learn why the suffrage was extended in England. Method: 
Use a text in modern European history or English history and secure 
the facts about the suffrage laws of 1832, 1867, 1884, 1918, and 1928. 

3- Problem: To find out why voters fail to vote. Method: Interview 
five voters who fail to vote and find out their reasons. Should an 
uninformed, indifferent man be persuaded to vote? 

References 

Magruder, American Government 
Munro, American Government Today 
Porter, History of Suffrage in the United States 
Williamson, Readings in American Democracy 


CHAPTER XXVIII 


THE POLITICAL PARTY 

Nature of the political party. — A political party may be 
defined as a voluntary association of voters for the purpose 
of influencing elections to public office. The individuals 
comprising a party have certain broad political principles 
in common, and these they seek, by organized effort, to 
have applied to actual government. Just as individuals 
differ on matters of business or religion, so it is human nature 
for the voters of a community to form varying opinions as to 
the nature, functions, and methods of government. And 
just as men tend to draw away from those with whose opin¬ 
ions they do not agree, so they tend to draw toward those 
with whom they are in agreement, and with whose coopera¬ 
tion they may advance principles of mutual interest. It is 
this natural tendency of men, first, to differ with one an¬ 
other, and second, to form associations for the advancement 
of mutual aims, that has led to the formation of political 
parties. 

Development of parties in the United States. — The Amer¬ 
ican political party is older than the nation. Differences 
of political opinion divided the American colonists into Whigs 
and Tories. Later, party spirit was manifested in the forma¬ 
tion of the Revolutionary committees of correspondence. 
The struggle over the Constitution of 1787 divided men into 
Federalists and Anti-Federalists. The question of a broad 
or a strict construction of the Constitution, the tariff, and the 
problem of slavery in the territories — these are a few of the 
great national issues that have influenced party lines. Be¬ 
fore the Civil War party spirit had extended to all parts of 
the country, evidencing itself in a number of party organiza- 

344 


THE POLITICAL PARTY 


345 


tions. Many of these organizations proved temporary, but 
since the Civil War party lines have been relatively fixed. 
For more than a half century there have been two great 
parties, the Democratic and the Republican. Third parties 
have been either temporary or relatively unimportant. 

Party organization. — There is no constitutional basis or 
provision for American political parties, nevertheless each 
of the great parties has built up a powerful organization 
which coordinates party members in every part of the coun¬ 
try. In practically every township, village, election district, 
and city ward there are party agents and local committees 
whose work it is to promote the interests of the party both at 
election time and between elections. The local party work¬ 
ers constitute a link between individual voters and the county 
or state committees, while these latter groups in turn connect 
with the national committee of the party. 

It is the work of all those officially connected with this 
centralized organization to win adherents to the party stand¬ 
ard, to place issues before the voters, to stimulate interest in 
candidates, to organize meetings and clubs, to collect funds 
for party support, to secure the registration of voters, and 
to see that they get to the polls. Party opinion is formed by 
means of personal contacts, campaign literature, speeches, 
parades, and every manner of propaganda. Party opinion is 
formally expressed through the caucus, the primary, the 
convention, and the regular election. 

Services of political parties. — The political party per¬ 
forms three great services. In the first place it provides 
machinery which bridges over the gaps between local, state, 
and national government. Similarly, it often serves to bring 
the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of govern¬ 
ment into harmony with one another. The check and bal¬ 
ance system so divides authority in American government 
that in many ways the different branches and divisions of 
government are uncoordinated. The party facilitates the 
working of American government because party members 
affiliated with one division of government will tend to co- 


346 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


operate with members of the same party who may be in 
control of other divisions of government. For example, a 
Democratic governor tends to cooperate with the Democratic 
members of the state legislature. Similarly, a Republican 
President will tend to work in harmony with those members 
of his party who are in control of purely state government. 

The second great service performed by the party is that it 
formulates public issues and presents them in concrete shape 
to the voters. Just as in industry it is the function of the 
entrepreneur to coordinate the other factors of production, 
so in government it is the function of the politician to act as 
a coordinator. Indeed, President Lowell calls the politician 
a broker, without whose services popular government would 
be impossible. If voters went to the polls with no previous 
agreement as to candidates or issues, but each determined to 
vote for whomever he liked, thousands of names might be 
found on the ballot. If a majority were required to elect, no 
individual would be chosen. The party thus performs a 
valuable service by formulating those principles which will 
attract the greatest number of voters, and by definitely 
associating those principles with particular candidates. 
These issues and these candidates the party places squarely 
before the electorate, to the exclusion of minor issues and 
unimportant candidates. The party is thus a means whereby 
democracy makes up its mind, and expresses that mind with 
a minimum of confusion and disorder. 

The third great service of the political party is that it pro¬ 
vides a means of collective and continuing responsibility in 
politics. If a candidate were not affiliated with any political 
party, misbehavior in office might result in his removal or in 
his failure to secure reelection. But here responsibility would 
end. When, on the other hand, the party selects, supports, 
and vouches for a candidate, the party constitutes a definite 
and permanent pledge to the voters. Thus the party is 
stimulated to select its candidates carefully, lest their in¬ 
competence or dishonesty fatally injure the reputation of the 
party. The past exploits of the party are appropriated for 


THE POLITICAL PARTY 


347 


future campaigns; conversely, the failure or misbehavior of 
an officeholder will be pointed out by his political enemies 
as typical of the party to which the unfortunate man belongs. 

The abuse of party power. — Though party government 
confers substantial benefits, it is likewise true that the power 
of the political party has been frequently abused. American 
party organizations sprang up silently, and developed largely 
without legal control. I ncreased power has been accompanied 
by diffused responsibility; increased power and diffused re¬ 
sponsibility have led to the abuse of power. The evils of the 
party are numerous, and only those of fundamental impor¬ 
tance can be discussed in this text. Some of these evils will 
appear in successive chapters; a few may be treated here. 
In every case, it should be borne in mind, the basic defect of 
party government is that the party has tended to use its 
power primarily for private rather than public ends. 

Campaign contributions. — Throughout much of our na¬ 
tional history one of the great evils of the political party has 
had to do with contributions to the campaign fund. A few 
decades ago it was the custom of parties, not only to accept 
large sums of money from special interests, but actually to 
demand substantial contributions from railroad and other 
corporations on pain of unfriendly legislation when the party 
got into power. In our cities gambling houses and other 
vicious interests habitually contributed to the campaign fund 
of the party, with the understanding that the party so sup¬ 
ported would, if successful at the polls, protect these unlawful 
businesses. Large amounts were also secured from office¬ 
holders who feared to incur the ill will of the party by refusing 
to contribute to the campaign fund. The enormous sums 
got together from these various sources were used to finance 
election contests, the peak being reached when in the presi¬ 
dential election of 1896 the Republican party is said to have 
spent more than $7,000,000. The source of the most of this 
sum was unknown to the general public. During the cam¬ 
paign of 1928 the Republican party spent $9,433,604 and 
the Democratic party spent $7,152,511. 


348 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


Fortunately, recent legislation has remedied a considerable 
measure of the evils attending unrestricted contributions to 
the campaign fund. Laws now prohibit party agents from 
seeking contributions from the holders of federal civil service 
offices. Other laws specify the purposes for which campaign 
tnoney may be spent. In presidential and congressional elec¬ 
tions the treasurer of the national committee of each party 
must now report the entire campaign fund contributed and 
expended, giving the name of every individual contributing 
over $1000, and also furnishing an itemized statement of all 
expenditures over $10. This report is filed with the clerk 
of the House of Representatives, and is open to the public. 

There can be no doubt that these and similar laws have 
operated to deprive the campaign fund of some of its objec¬ 
tionable features. Publicity has also been a powerful factor 
in eliminating the dangers attendant upon large contribu¬ 
tions. Both parties now seek to collect small sums from a 
large number of supporters rather than large sums from a 
few individuals. This not only lessens the control of party 
policies by special interests, but it also serves to make the 
party more responsible to the rank and file of the organiza¬ 
tion. 

Party domination of nominations and elections. — A great 
problem of party government is to prevent parties from un¬ 
duly influencing the choice of public officials. Leaving until 
later the general question of nominations and elections, it 
may be pointed out here that very often the whole weight of 
party power is directed toward securing the election to office 
of candidates deemed desirable by the party machine. The 
political “boss” has consistently used his power to manipu¬ 
late the caucus or the primary so as to advance his own inter¬ 
ests at public expense. Caucuses have been held without 
proper notice being given, and party henchmen have been 
employed to work for an inside clique or ring. Formerly 
the rolls of party members were padded with the names of 
men dead or absent. Too often elections were characterized 
by the stuffing of ballot boxes, the intimidation or bribery 


THE POLITICAL PARTY 


349 


of voters, and the practice of voting more than once. The 
effect of these and similar practices has been to thwart the 
will of the majority of party members, and to elevate self- 
interest above the general welfare. 

Safeguarding of elections. —The last few decades of Amer¬ 
ican political history have been characterized by a number 
of laws designed to safeguard the process of nomination and 
election. In practically every state in the Union there are 
corrupt-practices acts which aim not only to prevent the 
misuse of the campaign fund, but to control the party in other 
respects also. In all but two states registration is a pre¬ 
requisite to voting. The introduction of the secret ballot 
has also assisted in safeguarding elections. Until about 1890 
the voter had to cast his vote publicly, and party bosses and 
other interested persons could see how each man voted. All 
this was changed by the introduction of the Australian ballot, 
which enabled the voter to mark a written ballot in the 
privacy of a booth. By preventing the intimidation of the 
voter, and by otherwise safeguarding his rights at the polls, 
ballot reform has remedied many abuses which formerly re¬ 
sulted in illegal and unrepresentative elections. Bribery and 
illegal voting are no longer glaring evils. It is now the general 
practice for state laws to provide definite polling places, and 
to guard the receiving and counting of the ballots. 

The spoils system. — During the first forty years of our 
national life it was taken for granted that subordinate execu¬ 
tive officials should continue in office during good behavior, 
regardless of a change of administration. After President 
Jackson’s first term, however, it became the general practice 
for the incoming party to use offices to reward party sup¬ 
porters. Senator Marcy’s original declaration that “to the 
victor belongs the spoils,” was accepted by both Democratic 
and Republican parties. Each party, upon coming into 
power, habitually turned out appointive officials placed in 
office by the opposition party. The positions thus made 
vacant were filled by individuals from the ranks of the vic¬ 
torious party. 


350 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


The spoils system is a serious evil for which party spirit 
must be held accountable. By virtue of their patronage, 
party leaders have exercised an undue influence over the rank 
and file of the party. Frequently a candidate has been 
named for office, not because he possessed marked capacity 
for public service, but because he showed promise of being 
a good vote-getter at election time. Very frequently, there¬ 
fore, officeholders have secured their positions as the reward 
of party support, rather than because of merit. The spoils 
system has encouraged the holders of executive offices to pay 
more attention to the political fortunes of their party 
than to their public duties. Knowing that with a change of 
administration they would probably be ousted to make room 
for the supporters of the rival party, officials have been 
tempted to use public office for personal ends. 

The spoils system still constitutes a defect in American 
government. Nevertheless something has been done toward 
eliminating its worst features. The Civil Service Act of 1883 
provided that more than 12,000 federal executive offices 
should be filled by competitive examinations rather than by 
political appointment. The federal civil service system has 
been subsequently extended until at the present time about 
two-thirds of the administrative offices in the federal govern¬ 
ment are filled on the merit plan. In many sections of the 
country the merit plan has also been used to fill state and 
municipal offices. Though as yet limited in scope, it would ap¬ 
pear that the future will see a steady expansion of the merit 
plan in local and state as well as in the national government. 

The essential feature of this system, whether in local, state 
or national government, is that officeholders secure their 
positions on the basis of individual merit. In theory at least, 
they are little affected by changes of administration. Both 
retention of office and promotion are on the basis of merit, 
though the standards by which appointees are judged have 
not yet been perfected. 

Extension of favors to special interests. — The tendency 
of the political party to extend special favors to private cor- 


THE POLITICAL PARTY 


351 


porations has constituted a serious evil in American politics. 
In some instances powerful corporations have corrupted 
party politics; in other cases party organizations have black¬ 
mailed corporations under the threat of unfriendly legisla¬ 
tion; in many other cases both party and corporations have 
been to blame. In every case, however, the essential fact 
is that often the party has been used for the advancement of 
special interests rather than to promote the general welfare. 
Unfavorable legislation has been bought off and favorable 
laws secured by trusts, public service corporations, and other 
large industrial interests. Exemption from prosecution has 
been purchased by gambling houses and other illegal busi¬ 
nesses. Public service corporations have secured valuable 
franchises for inadequate consideration. Contracts for pav¬ 
ing and other public works have many times been awarded, 
not to firms offering the best work at the lowest price, but to 
incompetent or dishonest corporations. Such contracts have 
been secured by these corporations because of favoritism 
shown them by political henchmen holding office under the 
spoils system. 

Notable headway has been made in checking these evils. 
The regulation of the railroads by the Interstate Commerce 
Commission renders it difficult for railroad corporations un¬ 
duly to influence party policies. Anti-trust legislation has 
similarly checked the political activities of other great in¬ 
dustrial combinations. There is a growing tendency for 
states to pass laws forbidding or restricting the maintenance 
of lobbies in legislative halls. Many recent state constitu¬ 
tions narrowly restrict the franchise-granting power. Cor¬ 
rupt-practices acts forbid party contributions from corpora¬ 
tions. The civil service system renders less easy the unfair 
award of government contracts to private corporations. 

Decline of party abuses. — It is clear that the develop¬ 
ment of party government in this country has been attended 
by important benefits and serious evils. But the best author¬ 
ities agree that the merits of the party system outweigh its 
defects. Hence our problem is not how to destroy the system, 


352 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


but how to regulate it so that we may secure the benefit of its 
services and avoid the evil results of its defects. The ex¬ 
perience of the last half century is heartening, and it must be 
admitted, not only that party abuses have declined, but that 
there is good reason to believe that they will continue to 
decline. In our attitude toward the political party we must 
distinguish, as Burke distinguished, between the legitimate 
form of the party and its perverted form. The perverted 
forms of party organization call for censure and attack; the 
legitimate features of the party deserve our appreciation and 
support. 

Duty of party support. — Parties seem to be inevitable, 
for no one has yet shown how representative government 
can be carried on without them. Since the average voter 
cannot make his influence felt except through organization 
and mass action, it is, as a rule, as futile for the individual to 
cast his vote regardless of party affiliations as it is for a soldier 
to fight without regard for army discipline and organization. 
Parties are the result of compromises, and the individual 
must be willing to shelve minor issues for the sake of uniting 
with his fellows upon vital issues. Ordinarily, the individual 
will best perform his civic duties by affiliating himself with 
some political party. 

But we are coming to believe that the necessity of party 
support in national and state elections does not imply that 
party support is necessary in local elections. In national 
politics each party generally has a definite policy with regard 
to taxation, the tariff, armaments, and other debatable issues. 
Support of the party for the realization of its program on 
these matters may be justifiable; on the other hand, loyalty 
to party in local politics may be an evil. There is no Demo¬ 
cratic way of cleaning a street, and no Republican method 
of fighting a fire. Thus the same citizen who may be under 
a moral obligation to support some party in national and 
state politics, may be under a similar obligation to make his 
choice of local candidates independent of party. A desirable 
development, in this regard, is the recent tendency for some 


THE POLITICAL PARTY 


353 


municipal elections to be decided regardless of the party 
affiliations of the candidates. 

Integrity is above party. — Young people are commonly 
advised to affiliate themselves with that political party which 
seems most adequately to express their political ideals. But 
though this is a method of conserving political energy, no 
citizen ought to support a party which has ceased to represent 
him on matters which he considers of vital importance. 
When the party machine sets itself up as an end rather than a 
means, and when it emphasizes gain to a few rather than 
benefits to the party as a whole, then it is time for honest 
men to abandon their party. Integrity is above party. The 
slogan, “My party right or wrong,” is not only stupid but 
treasonable. Let the citizen be eager to cooperate with his 
fellows for the advancement of common political views, but 
let the corrupt party be abandoned. 

Responsibility of the individual for party abuses. — Noth¬ 
ing could be more mistaken than the belief that defective 
government is due primarily to the existence of an entity 
known as the political party. The party is merely an associa¬ 
tion of individuals, and if it is corrupt it is so because of the 
corruption of the individuals comprising it. It is time that 
political pessimists stopped blaming the party for the defects 
of party government, and time they began to see that the 
indifference and shortsightedness of the individual voter is at 
the bottom of the trouble. One of the greatest sources of 
corruption in American life is the knowledge of political 
bosses that many of their adherents will follow the party 
standard regardless of its platform and no matter what the 
character of its candidates. The party boss is given an open¬ 
ing when individuals neglect to perform their civic duties. 
The failure to vote, or to serve in office when the opportunity 
offers, the failure either to protest against candidates chosen 
unfairly, or to demand an accounting of officeholders, spell 
corruption and inefficiency in government. An agressive and 
active interest as well as the exercise of suffrage are nec¬ 
essary elements in a democracy. 


354 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


Activities and References 
Significant Words and Phrases 

Mutual, causus, campaign literature, political boss, political machine, 
party machine, spoils system, patronage, unfavorable legislation, special 
interests, corrupt-practices acts. 

Questions 

1. What is a political party? 

2. What issues have caused the formation of parties? 

3. State three services rendered by political parties. 

4. The politician is a coordinator. Explain. 

5. What advantages do campaign contributors sometimes derive from 

their contributions? 

6. What changes have recent laws brought about in campaign contri¬ 

butions? 

7. What evils have sometimes attended elections? 

8. What changes did the Australian ballot effect? 

9. Explain the spoils system. 

10. How have civil service laws affected the spoils system? 

11. What are some examples of favors to special interests? 

12. Should party labels be used in local elections? 

13. Should voters belong to a party? 

14. Is the party to blame for defects in government? 

Problems 

1. Problem: To appreciate the services of parties. Method: Use an 
American history and find out what the Federalist party accomplished 
from 1789 to 1800. 

2. Problem: To study the evils of political bosses. Method: Use an 
American history and secure the material for a report on Boss Tweed 
of New York. 

3. Problem: To examine the evils of the spoils system. Method: In¬ 
vestigate the truth of the following statement: “The death of Presi¬ 
dent Garfield was due, in no small measure, to the spoils system.” 

References 

Magruder, American Government 

Munro, American Government Today 

Ray, Introduction to Political Parties and Practical Politics 

Spindt and Ryan, The Foundations of American Government 

Williamson, Readings in American Democracy 


CHAPTER XXIX 


ELECTIONS 

The problem. — In an important sense, good government 
is a matter of getting the right men into office, hence one 
of the most vital problems in American democracy has to do 
with the choice of public officials. In any representative de¬ 
mocracy nominations and elections must be a difficult and 
complex matter; in the United States the problem is rendered 
doubly difficult by the great size of the country, and by the 
rapidity with which its population is increasing. In this 
country hundreds of thousands of public officials are placed 
in office annually, all of them either elected at the polls, or 
chosen by agents who are themselves elected. 

The problem before us involves four questions: First, how 
can we perfect the mechanism by means of which the officers 
of government are selected? Second, how can we elect offi¬ 
cials who represent a majority , rather than a plurality, of 
those actually voting? Third, how can voters be helped to 
make intelligent choices at the polls? Fourth, how can we 
encourage qualified voters to make an habitual use of the 
ballot? 

Nomination by caucus. — One of the earliest methods of 
choosing party candidates in this country was by means of 
the caucus. The caucus was an informal meeting in which 
the local members of a political party nominated candidates 
for town and county offices. Candidates for state offices 
were named by a legislative caucus, in which legislators be¬ 
longing to the same party came together and determined 
their respective nominations. The legislative caucus spread 
to all of the states, and in 1800 was transferred to Congress 
as a mode of nominating the President and Vice President. 

355 


356 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


After 1825 the caucus declined in importance. In the law¬ 
making bodies of both nation and states there continues to 
be a legislative caucus, but its influence upon the choice of 
public officials has greatly diminished. Outside of the state 
and national legislatures the caucus is now found only in 
towns, wards, and other small areas. In these areas it is used 
for the purpose of nominating candidates for local offices, 
and for the purpose of electing delegates to nominating con¬ 
ventions. Except in some parts of New England, it should 
be noted, this local caucus is now generally known as the 
primary. 

Rise of the convention. — After 1825 the caucus was 
largely superseded by the convention. The convention is a 
relatively large meeting of party delegates chosen for the 
express purpose of deciding upon party policies and candi¬ 
dates. The convention device was developed, partly because 
party bosses had come to dominate the caucus, and partly be¬ 
cause the increasing population of the country necessitated 
larger congregations of party members. The convention was 
made possible by improved means of transportation, which 
allowed relatively large groups of individuals to come to¬ 
gether for deliberative purposes. By 1850 all of the political 
parties had adopted the convention plan for the nomination 
of candidates for most local, state, and national offices. 

Decline of the convention. — The convention was an im¬ 
provement upon the caucus in that it allowed a greater 
number of party members to participate in nominations. 
Unfortunately, delegates to the convention continued to be 
chosen in local caucuses, where the party “ring” or machine 
usually determined the choice of delegates. Bosses prepared 
“slates,” bribed delegates, and otherwise manipulated what 
was supposed to be an expression of the party will in conven¬ 
tion. In many cases the convention became merely a cut- 
and-dried affair in which party members ratified nominations 
previously agreed upon by party leaders. 

In the latter part of the nineteenth century, and especially 
after 1900, these defects stimulated the development of 


ELECTIONS 


357 


measures designed to reduce or eliminate the abuses of the 
convention system. The most important of these reform 
measures is the Direct Primary. 

Nature of the Direct Primary. — The terms “caucus,” 
“primary,” and “Direct Primary” are easily confused. We 
have seen that the local caucus is now generally known as 
the primary. In the Direct Primary, party members vote 
directly for the party’s candidates at the forthcoming elec¬ 
tion; in the caucus or primary, on the other hand, party 
members do not vote directly for the more important of 
these candidates, but instead vote for delegates to a conven¬ 
tion. Later these delegates meet in convention and there 
vote directly for party candidates. Thus the Direct Pri¬ 
mary is really an election within the party, held for the 
purpose of allowing party members to choose the can¬ 
didates who will represent the party at the approaching 
regular election. When adopted, the Direct Primary abol¬ 
ishes the convention by allowing party members to cast their 
ballots directly for their party’s candidates. Those indi¬ 
viduals are nominated who receive a plurality of all votes 
cast. 

In most states the Direct Primary has recently been placed 
under detailed legal control. Such laws generally prescribe 
the time and place of holding the Direct Primary, the qualifi¬ 
cations of those who may participate, and the organization 
and general management of this party election. There is 
provision for polling places, official ballots, and election of 
officials, just as there is provision for similar machinery in 
the regular election which follows the Direct Primary. 

Extent of the Direct Primary. — Heralded as a cure for 
the defects of the convention, the Direct Primary spread 
rapidly after 1900. By 1919 every state in the Union had 
adopted it in some form, and about forty states were applying 
the state-wide primary. At first the Direct Primary was used 
only to nominate candidates for local offices, but at the 
present time state officers, and even federal Senators and 
Representatives, are often nominated by this method. In 


358 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


more than a third of the states the voters at the Direct 
Primary are allowed to express their preference directly for 
one of the candidates for the presidential nomination. Alto¬ 
gether, the Direct Primary has largely supplanted the con¬ 
vention in about three-fourths of the states. 

Advantages claimed for the Direct Primary. — A number 
of important advantages are claimed for the Direct Primary. 
It is said that the device reduces the power of the party boss, 
and insures democratic control within the party. Party 
members are more interested in the Direct Primary than in 
the local caucus or primary because in the Direct Primary 
they actually aid in the direct selection of party candidates. 
The local caucus or primary, on the other hand, does not 
directly select the more important party candidates, but may 
only choose delegates to a nominating convention. Because 
the Direct Primary increases the control of the individual 
over party policies, it encourages active political work on the 
part of the rank and file. It is maintained that the Direct 
Primary brings out a larger vote than would otherwise be 
possible. Better candidates are secured by means of the 
Direct Primary, it is claimed, because the nomination of in¬ 
dividuals depends upon the presentation of their claims to 
the voters, rather than upon winning the favor of party 
bosses. 

Objections urged against the Direct Primary. — The op¬ 
ponents of the plan claim that the Direct Primary has serious 
faults. It is said that in supplanting the convention the Di¬ 
rect Primary has made more difficult the exchange of views 
and opinions among party members. It is declared that the 
Direct Primary has disorganized the party and has therefore 
broken down party responsibility. It is claimed that the 
Direct Primary has not eliminated the boss, for rather than 
voting directly for candidates of their own choice, electors 
must make a selection from a list of candidates previously 
arranged by party leaders. All of these candidates may be 
objectionable to the voter. It is also pointed out that many 
worthy candidates have not the money to defray the expense 


ELECTIONS 


359 


of competing in the Direct Primary. Frequently the “ring” 
brings out a number of candidates to divide the voters, while 
the henchmen of the ring concentrate their votes upon one 
man. Lastly, it is pointed out, the excessive number of 
candidates to be selected renders it impossible for the average 
voter to make an intelligent selection. In such a case, the 
average person attends the Direct Primary only to confirm 
the choice of party leaders. 

Outlook for the Direct Primary. — The Direct Primary has 
not achieved all of the promises made by its supporters, but it 
has proved, on the whole, decidedly superior to the old con¬ 
vention system. There is a rather widespread feeling on the 
part of some people that the system has failed; others main¬ 
tain just as stoutly that it is better than the wire-pulling 
manipulations of the old conventions. In spite of its defects 
the Direct Primary seems to be firmly entrenched, and so far 
the efforts to overthrow it have been unsuccessful. 

Nomination by petition. — The system of nomination by 
petition came into use between 1880 and 1890. It provides 
that candidates may be placed in nomination by filing with 
some specified officer nomination papers, or petitions, signed 
by a specified number of qualified voters. The filing of these 
papers entitles the candidates named thereon to have their 
names printed upon the official ballot. The merit of this de¬ 
vice is that it prevents the party machine from dictating the 
choice of candidates, and that it enables independent candi¬ 
dates to be brought forward. On the other hand, it has en¬ 
couraged the circulation of petitions for hire. 

On the whole this method of nomination is proving more 
and more popular in local elections. It seems well adapted 
to the needs of municipalities, for it reduces partisanship to 
a minimum. It is said that in some cases it practically 
eliminates national politics from local elections. The sup¬ 
porters of nomination by petition are increasing, and it is 
now proposed to apply it to all local and state nominations. 
In such an event the Direct Primary would be radically 
modified, or even abolished. 


360 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


Majority representation. — How can we make certain that 
an individual nominated or elected represents a majority of 
those voting? When there are only two candidates, the one 
receiving the larger number of votes receives both a plurality 
and a majority. But when there are several candidates, it 
often happens that the individual receiving the largest num¬ 
ber of votes does not receive a majority. Suppose, for ex¬ 
ample, that 100,000 votes are cast, and that A receives 20,000, 
B 25,000, C 30,000 and D 25,000. Ordinarily C will be de¬ 
clared successful because he has received a plurality of the 
votes cast. But he has not received a majority of the votes 
cast. This custom of declaring successful the candidate re¬ 
ceiving a plurality constitutes a defect in our representative 
system, since a plurality candidate may represent only a 
small minority of those actually voting. 

Several attempts have been made to remedy this defect. 
In some southern states it is the practice to require an abso¬ 
lute majority for election. If no aspirant receives a majority, 
a second ballot is taken on the two candidates standing high¬ 
est on the list. In a number of northern cities, the evil of 
plurality voting has been attacked through the preferential 
voting device. This system of voting allows the voter to 
designate not only his first, but his second and third choices 
as well. If any candidate receives a clear majority of first 
choice votes, he is declared elected. But if no one receives 
such a majority, the second choices are added to the first 
choices. If this further calculation does not give any candi¬ 
date a majority, third choices are resorted to. In cities where 
the plan has been tried, preferential voting is said to have 
proved markedly successful. 

Minority representation.— Related to the question of mak¬ 
ing sure that successful candidates represent a majority of 
those voting is the problem of the adequate representation 
of the minority. The most notorious phase of this problem 
has grown out of our custom of electing one national Repre¬ 
sentative from each of the congressional districts into which 
every state is divided. This frequently leads to gerrymander- 


ELECTIONS 


361 


ing , a system of laying out congressional or legislative dis¬ 
tricts so as to give the minority party overwhelming majori¬ 
ties in a few districts, while the dominant party is allowed to 
carry the remaining districts by very small majorities. The 
result is gross misrepresentation in Congress, because the 
party having a bare majority often secures a large percentage 
of the Representatives, while the minority is very inade¬ 
quately represented. 

In the attempt to remedy this type of misrepresentation 
various plans of proportional representation have been put 
forth. In Illinois, members of the lower house of the state 
legislature have long been chosen as follows: Each state 
senatorial district is given the right to elect three assembly- 
men. Every elector in the district has the right to cast 
three votes, one each for three different persons, or two votes 
for one candidate and one for another, or all for one candi¬ 
date. By concentrating its votes upon one candidate, an 
average minority can be sure of at least one representa¬ 
tive in each district. A plan employed in several other 
states likewise aims to give each political party representa¬ 
tion proportional to the number of votes cast by the party, 
regardless of whether the number is a minority or a majority. 
The principle of proportional representation, if fully worked 
out, and if made simple enough to be comprehended by the 
average voter, would insure majority rule and at the same 
time allow the adequate representation of minorities. 

Obstacles to intelligent voting. — Several obstacles to in¬ 
telligent voting in this country are intimately connected with 
the long ballot. 1 The wave of democracy which swept the 
country in the last century had the double effect of increasing 
the number of elective officers, and of shortening the terms 
during which officials were allowed to hold office. A greatly 
lengthened ballot, together with the great frequency of elec- 

1 The term “long ballot” refers to the fact that so many officials are 
elective that the ballot on which their names appear is often of great 
length. The term “short ballot” refers to a reduction of the length of this 
ballot by making fewer officers elective and more appointive. 


362 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


tions, has made it impossible for the average voter to exercise 
proper judgment at the polls. The difficulty of investigating 
the merits of the numerous candidates, or even of becoming 
familiar with their names, has discouraged many from voting. 
Of those who still pretend to reach independent decisions 
regarding candidates and issues, a considerable number really 
rely upon the direction and advice of professional politicians. 
The long ballot is the enemy of democracy, since it allows* 
politicians, rather than the masses, to control actual govern¬ 
ment. 

Shortening the ballot. — The chief remedy for these evils 
is the short ballot. The essential features of the short ballot 
plan are as follows: Popular elections should be resorted to 
only for the purpose of choosing those officials who carry 
out public policies. For example, state voters ought to 
select only the governor, lieutenant governor, and members 
of the legislature; city voters ought to choose only the mayor 
and council, while county voters ought to confine their atten¬ 
tion to a small group of county commissioners or supervisors. 
All other officials ought to be appointed, either directly by 
chief executive officers, or by means of the merit plan. Along 
with the shortening of the ballot, we should be increasingly 
willing to allow officials to hold office for longer terms. A 
supplementary feature of great value would be the establish¬ 
ment of such means of popular control as would protect the 
public against abuse of power by officials to whom these 
longer terms had been extended. 

Merits of the short ballot. — There can be little doubt 
that a drastic shortening of the ballot would work a great im¬ 
provement in our electoral system. If the vast majority of 
officials were made appointive, the voter could give more time 
and thought to the consideration of a few important elective 
officials. A short ballot would lessen the possibilities of 
manipulation by rings and bosses. Unquestionably the inter¬ 
est of the voter would be quickened, since his influence upon 
the political life of his community would be more apparent. 
And not only would the short ballot make government more 


ELECTIONS 


363 


representative, but it would help to make it more responsi¬ 
ble. If the majority of the administrative officials who are 
now elected were made appointive, responsibility for their 
conduct in office could be concentrated upon the chief execu¬ 
tive officer appointing them. 

The neglect to vote. — The last of the vital questions 
arising in connection with the choice of public officials is the 
matter of encouraging the enfranchised classes to use the 
ballot. The long ballot and the domination of party politics 
by rings and bosses discourage many from voting, neverthe¬ 
less it is probably true that the slackness of the individual 
is the chief reason why voters neglect to use the ballot. This 
slackness may take the form of personal indolence, or of in¬ 
difference to civic duty, or of preoccupation with the press of 
personal business. When individuals are busy with their 
private affairs the time needed for intelligent political action 
is often begrudged. Again, the duty to vote is not always a 
compelling one. When a duty is shared with innumerable 
other people, it appears less of a personal duty; when the 
individual notes that his fellow-citizens neglect that duty, 
his own tendency toward slackness is encouraged. In a 
democracy, as Lord Bryce points out, “everybody’s business 
becomes nobody’s business.” 

Importance of civic education. — The perfecting of our 
nominating and electing machinery, together with the short¬ 
ening of the ballot, is doing a great deal to awaken interest in 
the proper use of the vote. But the problems of democracy 
cannot be solved by purely mechanical means. If our voters 
are to regard the use of the ballot as a civic duty, we must rely 
largely upon civic education. Young people, soon to be 
voters, must be impressed with the responsibilities of de¬ 
mocracy. They must be taught the vital importance of using 
the vote. In Belgium and Spain it is customary to penalize 
individuals for neglecting to vote, but the idea of compulsory 
voting is repugnant to the American spirit. Moreover, law 
alone can neither build up nor sustain individual morality. 
The remedy for indifference to the ballot would seem to be 


364 


PRINCIPLES OP* SOCIAL SCIENCE 


not law, but the education of voters to their moral obligation 
toward the government under which they live. 

Activities and References 
Significant Words and Phrases 

Majority, plurality, caucus, nomination, convention, “ring,” Direct Pri¬ 
mary, nomination by petition, preferential voting, gerrymandering, propor¬ 
tional representation, long ballot, short ballot. 

Questions 

1. What four questions arise in connection with the choice of public 

officials? 

2. Describe nomination by caucus. To what extent is this method still 

used? 

3. Why did the nominating convention arise? 

4. What forces were responsible for the decline of the convention? 

5. What is the nature and purpose of the Direct Primary? 

6. To what extent is the Direct Primary used in this country? 

7. What are the chief advantages of this device? 

8. What defects are urged against the Direct Primary? 

9. What is the outlook for the Direct Primary? 

10. What is nomination by petition? 

11. What is the problem of majority representation? 

12. Discuss the nature and purpose of the preferential voting device. 

13. What is the purpose of gerrymandering? 

14. What is the nature and purpose of proportional representation? 

15. What is the relation of civic education to the proper use of the ballot? 

Problems 

1. Problem: To distinguish clearly between plurality and majority. 
Method: Five candidates, A, B, C, D, and E, entered a Texas pri¬ 
mary. Their votes were as follows: A, 20,000; B, 25,000; C, 45,000; 
D, 10,000; and E, 35,000. Which candidate had a plurality? Major¬ 
ity? Which two candidates would enter a run-off primary? 

2. Problem: To understand why the Direct Primary was instituted. 
Method: Read, from one of the books cited below, about the old con¬ 
vention system and list its faults and shortcomings. 

3. Problem: To understand the process of gerrymandering. Method: 
Study the map of Congressional districts on p. 290 or examine the 
map of Illinois in Spindt and Ryan, Foundations of American Gov- 


ELECTIONS 


365 


eminent, p. 245. Explain why the districts are so irregular. Missouri 
formerly had a “shoe-string” district. Why do you suppose it was 
so formed? 

4. Problem: To examine a ballot. Method: Secure, if practicable, a 
sample ballot of a recent or a forthcoming election. Samples are often 
printed in newspapers. Sample ballots are also given in Spindt and 
Ryan, Foundations of American Government, pp. 112-113, and in 
Magruder, American Government. 

References 

Haines and Haines, Principles and Problems of Government 

Magruder, American Government 

Munro, American Government Today 

Spindt and Ryan, Foundations of American Government 

Williamson, Readings in American Democracy 


CHAPTER XXX 


HONESTY AND EFFICIENCY IN OFFICE 

Magnitude of the problem. — How can we insure the hon¬ 
est and efficient administration of American government? 
Civic education and the perfection of nomination and elec¬ 
tion devices will do much toward securing this end, but there 
remains a troublesome question. This has to do with reorgan¬ 
izing our legislative and administrative machinery, so that 
public officials may be allowed or encouraged to perform their 
duties in a responsible and effective manner. 

The problem is a vast one, the adequate treatment of which 
would require volumes. In this chapter, therefore, it will be 
necessary to confine the discussion to a few of the more press¬ 
ing aspects of the problem. Of these the following are per¬ 
haps the more important: first, the defects in legislative 
procedure; second, the reorganization of state administra¬ 
tion; third, budget reform; and fourth, the reform of munici¬ 
pal government. 

A. Defects in Legislative Procedure 

American legislatures are overworked. — It has frequently 
been pointed out that in the United States both state and 
national legislatures are overwhelmed with work. One rea¬ 
son for this is that the extension of government control over 
industrial corporations has rendered legislation more complex 
and greater in volume. The development of public interest 
in health, education, and related fields has of recent years 
markedly increased the amount of legislation. The custom 
which many legislators have of attempting to get as much 
special legislation for their respective districts as possible 
has likewise increased the number of laws upon the statute 

366 


HONESTY AND EFFICIENCY IN OFFICE 


367 


books. Lastly, it should be borne in mind that throughout 
our history we have tended to believe legislation a cure-all for 
the defects of American life. This attitude has led to an ex¬ 
cessive number of laws on subjects which in European coun¬ 
tries are ordinarily left to the discretion of administrative 
officials. 

The combined effect of these developments has been to 
confront our legislatures with so much business that honest 
and efficient legislation has been rendered exceedingly diffi¬ 
cult. 

The committee system. — The chief defects of American 
legislation appear in connection with the committee system 
which exists in both national and state legislatures. The 
committee system is the practice of dividing the legislative 
body into a large number of small groups or committees 
whose duty it is to consider various types of legislative busi¬ 
ness. The great merit of this device is that it expedites busi¬ 
ness. Indeed, the membership of our legislatures has become 
so large, and the amount of legislative business has increased 
so rapidly, that it is difficult to see how the committee system 
could be dispensed with. Without some such division of 
labor, chaos and endless delay would result. 

At the same time, the committee system has numerous 
faults. As Lord Bryce has pointed out, it destroys the unity 
of the legislature by breaking it up into a number of small 
groups among which there is no appreciable degree of co¬ 
ordination. The committee system limits debate. Since 
most committee business is transacted in secret session, the 
public is deprived of light upon public affairs. So minutely 
does the committee system divide legislative labor that even 
the most important piece of legislation cannot secure the 
attention of the best men. There is a diffusion of responsi¬ 
bility when various committees work upon related problems 
without regard for the work being done by one another. 
Finally, the committee system throws power, unaccompanied 
by adequate responsibility, into the hands of the committee 
chairman. 


368 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


Log-rolling. — Log-rolling is the trading of votes among 
individual legislators. Many of the faults of our state and 
national legislatures are connected with this practice. Some 
legislators are so intent upon securing the passage of bills in 
which they are personally interested that they are willing to 
vote for a fellow-legislator’s pet bills, regardless of merit, pro¬ 
vided that legislator will return the favor. In this way special 
legislation often displaces bills which are drawn in a wider 
interest — taxation, education, and other vital matters being 
neglected so that members may pursue personal ends. 

There is as yet no limit to the number of bills which may 
be introduced by state or national legislators. As a result 
there is a large number of unnecessary and hastily framed 
bills for which no one is definitely responsible. It is sup¬ 
posed to be the duty of all legislators to weed out bills which 
are poorly framed, or which are designed to promote special 
interests. But in this case everybody’s business becomes 
nobody’s business. Such machine-like formalities as re¬ 
peated readings of a bill, and a series of committee reports 
upon it, are generally substituted for individual scrutiny of a 
measure. 

Legislative reform. — The reform of legislative procedure 
is attracting an increasing amount of attention among stu¬ 
dents of American politics. Many recent state constitutions 
define in detail the powers and procedure of the state legisla¬ 
ture. A considerable number of states now have legislative 
reference bureaus, which enable legislators to keep track of 
legislation in other states, as well as to have ready access 
to important data bearing upon their own problems. There 
is a growing tendency for state legislatures to employ expert 
bill drafters to draw up laws on technical and highly complex 
subjects. The expert bill drafter and the legislative bureau 
help materially to reduce the amount of defective and unwise 
legislation on the statute books. 

Much remains to be done, however. Important public bills 
ought invariably to be given first consideration by legislators, 
instead of, as is still many times the case, being put off until 


HONESTY AND EFFICIENCY IN OFFICE 369 

the end of the session in order to allow time for log-rolling. 
Filibustering and other time-wasting tactics should be curbed, 
because they tend to obstruct legislation. Many students of 
government advocate the extension of a plan already adopted 
in Massachusetts and a few other states, whereby all bills 
are given a public hearing. It is also clear that some method 
ought to be devised whereby the work of the various com¬ 
mittees dealing with related subjects could be correlated and 
harmonized. Lastly, any measures which will reduce the 
amount of unnecessary and ill-advised legislation must prove 
of great value. 


B. The Reorganization of State Administration 

Defects in state administration. — Originally the state 
administration consisted of the governor and a few elective 
officers, notably a secretary of state, a treasurer, and an 
attorney-general. With the rapid development of the coun¬ 
try, education, health, dependency, corporations, and similar 
matters have required more and more attention from state 
governments. To perform a host of new functions the state 
administration has expanded to include numerous com¬ 
missioners, boards, and departments, some of them elected 
by the people, and some of them appointed by the governor. 

This development has been haphazard, rather than orderly 
and planned. As a result, the administrative department is 
in most states a confused and tangled mass of boards and 
commissions, departments and single offices, often duplicat¬ 
ing the work of one another, and largely working without any 
appreciable degree of coordination. In most states numerous 
administrative officers are elective, rather than appointive. 
This situation has two drawbacks: In the first place, elective 
officials are responsible to no one but the people at large, and 
therefore these officials cannot be efficiently directed or super¬ 
vised by the governor. In the second place, no definite per¬ 
son or persons can be held responsible for the conduct of this 
numerous body of elective administrative officials. 


370 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


The reform of state administration- — The reorganization 
and consolidation of state administrative offices is attract¬ 
ing an increasing amount of attention. In New Jersey, 
Massachusetts, Illinois, and several other states, administra¬ 
tion has been notably simplified and systematized. The 
Illinois Administrative Code of 1917, for example, consoli¬ 
dated the work of more than a hundred administrative offices 
into nine main departments. Each department is in charge 
of a director, appointed by the Governor, and each depart¬ 
ment is responsible to the Governor. Coordination of this 
type economizes time and energy, and saves the state’s 
money by reducing the number of salaried officials. The 
centralization of the entire administration under the Gover¬ 
nor not only allows efficient supervision, but permits the 
people to hold this official strictly accountable for the ad¬ 
ministration. 

The need of reform in state administration is recognized 
throughout the Union, but in most states the reorganization 
of administrative offices is retarded in two ways: first, the 
movement is opposed by officeholders who fear that their 
positions will be abolished by a consolidation of departments; 
second, in many states the consolidation of administrative 
offices is impossible without substantial amendments to the 
state constitution. 


C. Budget Reform 

The question of a budget. — In contrast to the leading 
countries of Europe, our national government until very 
recently had no budget system. Some of the estimates were 
prepared by the administrative departments, under the direc¬ 
tion of the President, while other estimates were prepared by 
various committees in the House of Representatives. In 
Congress there was little or no coordination between the vari¬ 
ous committees considering different appropriations. Nor 
were these committees properly coordinated with the ad¬ 
ministrative departments which were responsible for the 
original estimates. 


HONESTY AND EFFICIENCY IN OFFICE 


371 


After appropriations had been granted, Congress had no 
control over the actual expenditure of the money. Thus the 
administrative departments might waste their appropria¬ 
tions, and then secure the passage of deficiency bills to make 
up the shortage. At no time did the various departments and 
committees considering appropriations take into careful ac¬ 
count the amount of government revenue. For this reason 
it was purely an accident if appropriations kept within the 
limits set by available revenue. 

A similar situation formerly prevailed in many of the 
states. The various administrative departments transmitted 
to the legislature an estimate of what each required for the 
coming year. These estimates, together with an unlimited 
number of appropriation bills introduced by individual mem¬ 
bers, were referred to various committees. Whether particular 
appropriations were granted depended, not upon the amount 
of state revenue, but upon the political pressure brought to 
bear in favor of those measures. As in Congress, neither the 
executive nor legislative branch of government, neither par¬ 
ticular committees nor individual legislators, could be held 
wholly responsible for any appropriation measure. Excessive 
waste of public funds was the result. 

Budget reform. — The last two decades have witnessed 
a growing demand for a national budget. Under the direc¬ 
tion of President Taft a commission investigated the general 
question of responsibility in the handling of federal finances. 
The report of the committee favored a national budget, but 
the unfriendly attitude of Congress checked the movement. 
Interest in a national budget increased during the two terms 
of President Wilson, stimulated, especially, by the wave of 
post-war economy which swept the country after the signing 
of the armistice in November, 1918. In the spring of 1921, 
a bill establishing a budget system for the national govern¬ 
ment passed both houses of Congress, and on June 10, 1921, 
the bill became law by the signature of President Har¬ 
ding. This system has tended to systematize national ex¬ 
penditures. 


372 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


Practically unknown a few years ago, the budget move¬ 
ment among the states has spread so rapidly that at the 
present time almost all of the commonwealths have some 
sort of budget system. Three methods of preparing the 
budget are found among the several states. In some states, 
as in New York, budget-making is in the hands of the legisla¬ 
ture; in other states, as in Wisconsin, both legislature and 
executive participate in budget-making; in still other states, 
as in Illinois, the executive alone is responsible for the prepa¬ 
ration of the budget. Many authorities claim that the last- 
named type of budget preparation is preferable but, in many 
states it is objected to as giving too much power to the 
executive. 

D. The Reform of Municipal Government 

Municipal reform: changes in the mayor-council plan. — 
Until the opening of the twentieth century practically every 
American city was governed under what is known as the 
mayor-council plan. This plan provides for a council to make 
the laws, and a mayor to act as executive. Formerly the 
council of the larger cities was very often composed of two 
chambers, a board of aldermen and a common council, but 
of late years the single-chambered council has become more 
and more common. 

The mayor-council plan still prevails in most American 
cities, particularly in the larger municipalities. But every¬ 
where the growing demand for honesty and efficiency in 
government is leading to the reform of this system. In 
order to reduce the length of the ballot, the appointive power 
of the mayor is being increased. In the interests of economy 
and responsibility the administrative offices are in many 
cities being consolidated, coordinated and centralized under 
the mayor. To guard against the abuse of financial power 
there is in many commonwealths a tendency for state con¬ 
stitutions and statutes to limit the debt-incurring and fran¬ 
chise-granting powers of city councils. 


HONESTY AND EFFICIENCY IN OFFICE 


373 


Municipal reform: the commission plan. — In September, 
1900, a tidal wave seriously demoralized the mayor-council 
form of government in Galveston, Texas. To meet the emer¬ 
gency, the state legislature authorized the establishment of 
a new type of government, known as the commission plan. 
Instead of selecting a mayor and councilmen, the voters of 
Galveston now chose a commission of five officials. All of 
these commissioners are equal in power, except that one pre¬ 
sides as mayor-president. The commission form of govern¬ 
ment spread rapidly, chiefly among the smaller cities, until 
in 1921 there were more than 300 municipalities governed 
under this plan. In every case the commission has both 
legislative and executive powers. Collectively the commis¬ 
sioners act as a legislative body for the city, individually 
they head the various administrative departments. Each of 
the commissioners will become the head of one of the de¬ 
partments, such as finance, public works, police and fire, and 
streets and public improvements. 

A number of important advantages are claimed for the 
commission form of city government. Responsibility is no 
longer divided among mayor and councilmen, but can be defi¬ 
nitely placed upon the small group of commissioners. It is 
believed by many that commission government allows a 
greater harmony of action than is possible under the mayor- 
council plan. Finally, it is declared, a group of five or seven 
commissioners can administer city government with more 
efficiency than can a mayor and a numerous council. 

The opponents of commission government maintain, on the 
other hand, that the plan is undemocratic and oligarchical 
because it centralizes great power in the hands of a small 
group. The plan is said to increase the danger of corruption, 
since appropriating and spending powers are placed in the 
same hands. The opponents of this form of government also 
maintain that it renders easier the corruption of the city ad¬ 
ministration, since party bosses may easily gain control of a 
few commissioners. A final, and perhaps the most serious, 
objection is that commission government does not go to the 


374 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


logical conclusion in concentrating responsibility. There is 
no head to the administration, and no way of preventing the 
diffusion of responsibility among the commissioners. Jeal¬ 
ousy among the commissioners has often led to friction and to 
working at cross-purposes. 1 

Municipal reform: the city manager plan. — A recent 
modification of commission government is the city manager 
plan. This provides for a small elective commission, which 
does not itself administer the government of the city, but 
which chooses, instead, an experienced executive or city 
manager. The city manager is supposed to be a non-partisan 
expert whose duty it is to administer the city in accordance 
with business principles. As the agent of the commission 
choosing him, the city manager enforces all ordinances, pre¬ 
pares annual estimates, and appoints all other city officials 
and employees. He also accepts full responsibility for the 
administration of the city’s affairs. 

The first large city to select a manager was Dayton, Ohio, 
which began the experiment on January 1, 1914. Since that 
date the plan, or some variation of it, has been established 
in about 250 cities, among them being Cincinnati, Columbus, 
and Lexington. The city manager plan is an improvement 
over the commission plan, in that it allows a greater concen¬ 
tration of responsibility. Another advantage over commis¬ 
sion government is that the city manager plan insures a high 
grade of professional skill at the apex of the city’s adminis¬ 
tration. The plan appears to work well provided a high grade 
manager can be found, and provided, also, that his position 
can be safeguarded against corrupting political influences. 

Activities and References 
Significant Words and Phrases 

Committee system, log-rolling, filibustering, budget, mayor-council plan, 
commission plan, city manager plan, liquidation, reference bureaus, expert 
bill drafter, budget system, oligarchical. 

1 Of recent years a number of cities have abandoned commission gov¬ 
ernment for either the mayor-council or the city manager plan. 


HONESTY AND EFFICIENCY IN OFFICE 


375 


Questions 

1. What four questions are discussed in this chapter? 

2. Why are American legislatures overwhelmed with work? 

3. What are the merits and defects of the committee system? 

4. What is log-rolling and why is it objectionable? 

5. What is the purpose of the legislative bureau? 

6. What is the function of the expert bill drafter? 

7. What are the chief defects of state administration? 

8. What has been done to correct these defects? 

9. Discuss the movement toward a national budget. 

10. What are the three forms of budget making in state government? 

11. What is the mayor-council plan, and what changes are being brought 

about in it? 

12. What is the commission plan of city government? How did it arise? 

What can be said for and against it? 

13. Compare the commission plan with the city manager plan. 

14. What is the chief merit of the city manager plan? 

Problems 

1. Problem: To visualize the situation which results in log-rolling. 
Method: Congressman X wants to secure an appropriation for a new 
post office building for a town in his district; Congressman Y wants 
a new judge appointed; Congressman Z wants a river in his district 
dredged. If each agrees to help the other, what will be the probable 
results? 

2. Problem: To appreciate the necessity of a national budget. Method: 
If each department is allowed to make its own estimate of its needs, 
what will be the result? Use one of the books cited below and prepare 
a report on the national budget system. Also read Taft’s message in 
Williamson, Readings in American Democracy, pp. 494-496. 

3. Problem: To survey some defects in state administration. Method: 
Read such a survey in Williamson, Readings in American Democracy, 
pp. 490-492. 

References 

Magruder, American Government 

Munro, American Government Today 

Spindt and Ryan, Foundations of American Government 

Williamson, Readings in American Democracy 


CHAPTER XXXI 


DIRECT DEMOCRACY 

Basis of popular control. — The fact that our government 
is a representative democracy entitles the voters to choose, 
direct, and control the public officials who act for the people 
at large. We have discussed a few of the methods whereby 
the nomination and election machinery might be improved; 
we must now go a step further and examine the means by 
which officeholders may be controlled. 

Supposedly, officials are chosen because the people believe 
them able and willing to discharge public duties with honesty 
and efficiency. But after officials have taken office it may 
develop that they have secured their positions by unfair 
means, or that they are dishonest, or that they are inefficient 
or otherwise unsatisfactory. Wherever it develops that 
officeholders no longer meet with the approval of the people, 
truly representative government is impossible unless some 
method of effective popular control is found. 

Refusal to reelect. — If the voters are dissatisfied with the 
conduct of their representatives, they may express their 
disapproval by refusing to reelect those representatives. 
This effects a measure of control, even though it is negative 
and not immediate. 

Removal by the appointive authority. — If satisfaction is 
not rendered by subordinate administrative officials who 
have secured office through appointment, such officials may 
be removed from office by the authority appointing them. 
The power of the President, governor, or mayor to appoint 
generally carries with it the power to remove from office. 
Such removal may be on the initiative of the appointing 
authority, or it may be in response to a popular demand. 

376 


DIRECT DEMOCRACY 


377 


From the standpoint of the voters at large, however, this 
method of removal is indirect and often ineffective. 

Impeachment. — Unsatisfactory officials are sometimes re¬ 
moved by the impeachment process. In the various states 
either a part or the whole of the legislature may sit as a court 
of impeachment for the trial of certain important officials 
accused of serious crime. In the national government the 
House of Representatives may initiate impeachment proceed¬ 
ings against the President, Vice-President, and all other civil 
officers of the United States. In such cases the Senate acts 
as a court of trial. 

Yet as a method of popular control impeachment is unsat¬ 
isfactory. It is indirect, since a part or the whole of the leg¬ 
islature acts for the people. It is slow and cumbersome. It 
does not extend over the entire list of public officials, nor 
over the entire range of offenses. 

Control through the amending process. — The powers and 
duties of public officials may be partially controlled through 
the formal amending process. In all states except New 
Hampshire the constitution may be amended through legisla¬ 
tive action, subsequently ratified by popular vote. About 
two-thirds of the states also provide for amendment by a con¬ 
stitutional convention composed of delegates elected by the 
voters. In a number of states, as we shall see a little later, 
constitutional amendment may also be secured by means of 
the initiative and referendum. 

The federal Constitution may be formally amended in four 
different ways. The two most important methods are, first, 
by a two-thirds vote in each house of Congress, and second, 
by a convention called by Congress upon application of the 
legislatures of two-thirds of the states. In either case the 
amendment must be ratified by the legislatures of three- 
fourths of the states. 

The formal amending process is an important part of our 
governmental machinery, but as a method of popular control 
it is open to a number of criticisms. It is slow. It is indirect, 
for the people must rely chiefly upon their legislatures. Con- 


378 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


stitutional amendment cannot remedy all of the abuses of 
office. Furthermore, it is too drastic and far-reaching a 
remedy for many of the minor abuses of office. 

The initiative. — In more than a third of the states popular 
discontent with the state legislature, together with the grow¬ 
ing self-confidence of the voters, has led to the adoption of the 
Initiative. The initiative is a device whereby any person 
or group of persons may draft a statute, and, on securing 
the signatures of a certain percentage of the voters, compel 
the state officials to submit the measure to popular vote. If 
at this voting the measure secures the required popular ap¬ 
proval, it becomes law. 

When the measure is submitted to the voters directly after 
the fulfillment of the petition requirements, the device is 
known as the direct initiative. When, after passing the 
petition stage, the measure goes to the legislature and does 
not come before the people at the polls unless the legislature 
fails to accept it, the device is known as the indirect initia¬ 
tive. In a dozen states, chiefly in the West, the initiative 
is also used to propose amendments to the state constitution. 

The referendum. — Early in our national history, it be¬ 
came an established principle that proposed constitutions 
or constitutional amendments should be referred to the voters 
for ratification. Of recent years about a third of the states, 
chiefly in the West, have extended the referendum device to 
cover ordinary legislation. This type of referendum may be 
defined as a plan whereby a small percentage of the voters 
may demand that practically any statute passed by the 
legislature must be submitted to the voters and approved 
by a specified majority before going into effect. 

The referendum is variously applied. In the compulsory 
referendum, which is the most common form, a measure 
must be submitted to the people whenever a designated 
number of voters petition that this step be taken. The 
optional referendum allows the state legislature to decide 
whether or not an enacted measure should be submitted to 
the people. The statutory referendum applies only to pro- 


DIRECT DEMOCRACY 379 

posed statutes, while the constitutional referendum is lim¬ 
ited to proposed amendments to the state constitution. 

What is direct legislation? — The initiative and the ref¬ 
erendum are found together in more than a dozen states. 
The two devices are supplementary: the Initiative is a posi¬ 
tive instrument which may be used to set the wheels of direct 
legislation in motion; the referendum is a negative measure 
which gives the people a potential veto on laws passed by the 
legislature. The initiative and the referendum are known 
collectively as direct legislation, that is, legislation directly 
by the people, as opposed to legislation enacted entirely 
through the legislature. 

Advantages claimed for direct legislation. — Important 
advantages are claimed for direct legislation. It is declared 
that the initiative and referendum keep law-making from 
being dominated by special interests. Because it constitutes 
a check upon constitutional conventions and state legisla¬ 
tures, direct legislation is said to make government more 
truly responsive to public opinion. It is claimed that direct 
legislation does not supplant, but rather supplements, im¬ 
proves, and renders more democratic, the formal legislative 
machinery. In several states, and especially in Oregon, it is 
claimed that the device stimulates political interest on the 
part of the voters. In Oregon the authorities print a pam¬ 
phlet containing a statement of proposed laws and summariz¬ 
ing the arguments of both advocates and opponents of each 
measure. Some weeks before the measure is to be decided 
at the polls this pamphlet is sent at public expense to every 
registered voter in the state. 

Objections urged against direct legislation. — Critics of 
the initiative and the referendum maintain that direct 
legislation has many serious defects. It is declared that by 
breaking down and weakening the state legislature, this type 
of legislation threatens the integrity of the framework of 
government established by the state constitution. It is 
pointed out that direct legislation shifts law-making from a 
definite group (the state legislature) to a large and indefinite 


380 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


group of persons (the voters as a class), upon whom responsi¬ 
bility cannot be fixed. 

It is also maintained that the initiative and referendum do 
not promote independence of political thought, since only a 
mechanical “Yes” or “No” is demanded of the voters. In 
all states where direct legislation is applied, it is said, so few 
persons actually vote that legislation is really determined by 
a small minority of the voters. Again, the ease with which 
the initiative and referendum may be set in motion allows so 
many measures to be brought before the people that they can¬ 
not vote upon them intelligently. It is also said that direct 
legislation is primarily the instrument of the propagandist, 
because in many cases cranks and professional agitators mo¬ 
nopolize the privilege of circulating petitions. 

The recall. — The recall is a device whereby certain elec¬ 
tive officials who have not given satisfaction in office may 
be required to stand for reelection before the end of their 
terms. The recall is set in motion when a petition has been 
duly signed by a specified percentage of the voters, usually at 
least twenty-five per cent. The recall cannot be employed 
until the official in question has been in office a specified 
period, so that he shall have had an opportunity to give 
satisfaction before being subject to recall. Accused officials 
may forestall the recall by resigning when a petition is 
launched against them; otherwise they must stand for re- 
election. The ballot which goes to the people contains, 
in brief, the objections to the official, and, in some states, 
also the reply of the accused officeholder. If defeated at 
polls the accused official must retire from office; if vindi¬ 
cated, he continues in office during the remainder of his 
term. 

The principle of the recall was recognized in American 
state government before the end of the eighteenth century, 
but in its present application it is much younger. In its 
modern form the recall was first used in 1903, when the city 
of Los Angeles applied it to elective municipal officials. 
Five years later Oregon adopted it for all state officers, and 


DIRECT DEMOCRACY 


381 


since 1908 it has spread to a number of other states, most 
of them in the western part of the country. The recall has 
been used chiefly against city officials, though in several states 
it may be applied to a majority of both local and state 
officials. In Oregon, California, Arizona, Colorado, and Ne¬ 
vada, the recall may also be used against judges. 

Arguments for the recall. — Those favoring the recall 
maintain that it is the natural and legitimate expression of 
the right to remove unsatisfactory officials. It is pointed 
out that the recall permits longer terms for elective officials, 
for if the voters know that they can use the recall to remove 
officials who prove unsatisfactory, they will feel safe in elect¬ 
ing those officials for relatively long terms. By reducing the 
number of elections, the device lightens the burdens of the 
voter. The recall is said to be a wholesome reminder of pre¬ 
election promises. It is also maintained that since the recall 
is a threat, it encourages officeholders to be honest and ef¬ 
ficient. 

Objections urged against the recall. — In answer to the 
above arguments, the opponents of the recall claim that 
the device encourages officials to curry popular favor, regard¬ 
less of public duty. It may also place officials at the mercy 
of popular passion and caprice. When it is applied to judges, 
the recall threatens the integrity and independence of a 
branch of government which ought to be removed from 
popular clamor and prejudice. This last is a serious objec¬ 
tion, for it may happen that judges subject to the recall will 
hesitate to hand down decisions that may prove unpopular, 
however just those decisions may be. For this reason the 
extension of the recall to judges is being strongly resisted. 
Even the most ardent advocates of the device are beginning 
to admit that it is more applicable to administrative officials 
than to judges. 

Status of the recall. — A satisfactory decision upon the 
merits of the recall is difficult because it is so recent a de¬ 
velopment and still so little used that few data are available. 
The state-wide recall has been in existence for a number of 


382 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


years, yet few state officials have been removed by it. Los 
Angeles used it to unseat the mayor in 1904 and in 1909, and 
in 1911 the device was used against the mayor of Seattle. The 
recall is primarily a threat, and is rarely used although the 
mayors of Detroit and Seattle were subjected to the recall in 
1931. In view of this fact, the arguments for and against 
the device rest upon theory rather than upon extended ex¬ 
perience. The recall has great possibilities for good if wisely 
administered, but it may become an evil influence if care¬ 
lessly or revengefully used. 

Significance of popular control. — The development of the 
initiative, the referendum, and the recall indicates a grow¬ 
ing impatience with the abuses of party power, the evils 
of the long ballot, and the corruption and inefficiency of 
many legislative bodies. It is significant that direct popular 
control has accompanied the widespread movement to reform 
municipal government, and that it is playing an increasingly 
important part in the movement to reform state administra¬ 
tion. 

Up to the present time, the initiative, the referendum, and 
the recall have been confined chiefly to the West, where po¬ 
litical problems are less acute than in the East, and where, 
too, the tendency toward direct participation in government 
has always been marked. Nevertheless, there is some indica¬ 
tion that the future will see an extension of direct popular 
control, not only in the West, but also in other parts of the 
country. Whether or not this extension is desirable we can¬ 
not now say. But certainly it is an interesting and important 
development, and one demanding careful study and mature 
deliberation on the part of those who seek to make American 
government highly effective. 

Activities and References 
Significant Words and Phrases 

Direct democracy, representative democracy, subordinate officials, impeach¬ 
ment, amending process, initiative, rejerendum, recall, direct legislation. 


DIRECT DEMOCRACY 


383 


Questions 

1. What is the basis of popular control? 

2. Name several methods of indirect control, and point out the objections 

to each. 

3. What is the Initiative? 

4. Distinguish between the Direct and the Indirect Initiative. 

5. What is the Referendum? 

6. What is the extent of the Referendum in this country? 

7. What is Direct Legislation? 

8. Summarize the arguments in favor of Direct Legislation. 

9. What objections are urged against Direct Legislation? 

10. What is the Recall? 

11. To what extent has the Recall been adopted in this country? 

12. What arguments are used to justify the use of the Recall? 

13. What are the chief objections to the Recall? 

14. What is the present status of the Recall? 

15. What is the significance of direct popular control? 

Problems 

1. Problem: To understand the process of impeachment. Method: From 
an American history text secure the material for a report on the im¬ 
peachment of President Johnson. Tell the story in detail. 

2. Problem: To understand the initiative, referendum, and recall. 
Method: If you live in a state which has any of these provisions, read 
the regulations for each in your state constitution. If your state does 
not have such provisions, read about them in Williamson, Readings 
in American Democracy, Chapter XXXVII. 

3. Problem: To consider the merits of direct democracy. Method: De¬ 
bate the following proposition: Resolved, that the initiative is desirable 
in ( the name your state). The purpose of the debate will be to bring 
out detailed consequences of such a political provision. 

References 

Dodd, State Government 

Magruder, American Government 

Mathews, American State Government 

Spindt and Ryan, Foundations of American Government 

Williamson, Readings in American Democracy 







PART V 


GENERAL PROBLEMS 


In the previous parts of this book we have studied 
problems which were primarily economic, social, or 
political. Part V, on the other hand, consists of 
problems which are obviously of a complicated 
nature. Any adequate treatment of them must 
include facts from more than one field of subject 
matter. Immigration illustrates such general prob¬ 
lems. It is, first of all, an economic problem. Immi¬ 
grants come to America in order to better their 
living conditions; so they naturally compete with 
native laborers. They consume goods, and conse¬ 
quently their purchasing power tends to stimulate 
American industry. Immigration is also a social 
problem. The influx of people of varied races, social 
habits, and educational standards affects profoundly 
our whole social life. But immigration is also a 
political problem, for Congress must decide how many 
immigrants may be admitted and from what countries 
they may come, and the children of these immigrants 
and in time many of the immigrants themselves will 
be citizens with the right to vote. Such a problem 
as immigration can obviously be best studied as one 
subject which has varied aspects — economic, social, 
and political. The other problems of Part V have 
a similar complexity. They raise, primarily, not an 
economic, or a social, or a political problem, but an 
intricate one that can be coped with only by the 
information and ideas attainable in all those fields 
together. That is why we call them General Prob¬ 
lems. 


CHAPTER XXXII 


IMMIGRATION 

Racial elements in our population. — The federal census 
of 1930 gave the population of continental United States as 
122,775,046. Approximately nine-tenths of this population 
is white, while about one tenth is Negro. Those who are 
neither white nor Negro, namely, American Indians and 
Asiatics, together constitute less than one half of one per 
cent of the population. 

The great majority of our people are either European immi¬ 
grants or the descendants of European immigrants who came 
to this country within the last century and a half. With 
reference to European immigration we distinguish three 
groups: the foreign-born, the native-born children of the 
foreign-born, and natives. Natives include those whose 
ancestors have been in this country two or more genera¬ 
tions. On the basis of this classification, about one-ninth 
of our population is foreign-born while over one-third is 
either foreign-born or the native-born children of foreign- 
born parents. 

The ease with which immigrants have adapted themselves 
to American life prevents any accurate classification of na¬ 
tionalities in our population, but probably Great Britain and 
Ireland, Germany, Italy, Russia (including Poland), and 
Austria-Hungary have, in the order named, contributed the 
largest numbers. 

Extent of immigration. — Since 1820, 47,834,452 immi¬ 
grants have been admitted to the United States. The 
table on the next page shows the number admitted in various 
years. 


387 


388 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


1820 

8,385 

1900 

448,572 

1830 

23,322 

1907 

1 , 285,349 

1840 

84,066 

1910 

1 , 041,570 

1850 

369,980 

1913 

1 , 197,892 

1860 

133,143 

1914 

1 , 218,480 

1870 

387,203 

1915 

326,700 

1880 

457,257 

1920 

430,001 

1881 

669,431 

1921 

805,228 

1882 

788,992 

1922 

309,556 

1883 

603,322 

1924 

706,896 

1884 

518,592 

1930 

241,700 

1890 

455,302 

1931 

97,139 


This table of immigration 1 statistics deserves careful 
study. The number of immigrants gradually increased to 
1907, the red-letter year in the history of immigration. Note 
the heavy increases after 1880. This was the wave of “new” 
immigration, a term that will be explained in a later section. 
You can easily account for the decided drop for the year 
1915. The decreases since the Great War are due mostly to 
the immigration laws, which will be explained in another 
section. 

This table, however, does not tell the whole story. In 
1910, for example, 223,961 immigrants returned to their 
native lands, leaving a net increase for that year of 817,619 
instead of the 1,041,570 which appears in the table. The net 
gain in 1914 was 769,271; in 1920, 193,514; and in 1931, 
surprisingly enough, there was a net loss of 10,237. This 
loss was probably a reflection, in part at least, of our economic 
situation, but it was also the result of the rather rigid restric¬ 
tion laws which had had time to show their full effects. 

The “old” immigration. — European immigration to the 
United States may be divided into two groups, the “old” 
and the “new.” The “old” immigration extended from the 
beginning of our national history to about the year 1880, and 
was derived chiefly from Great Britain and Ireland, Ger- 

1 At this place the student should review the table of racial elements 
given in Chapter XVI. It shows some effects of immigration. 


IMMIGRATION 


389 


many, and the Scandinavian countries. Between 1820 (the 
first year for which we have accurate records) and 1880, 
about nine-tenths of our immigrants came from these coun¬ 
tries. 

The striking features of the “old” immigration should be 
noted. In comparison with present-day immigration, it was 
relatively small in volume. In view of the abundance here of 
free land, and our consequent need for pioneers, the small 
volume of immigration prevented the rise of any serious prob¬ 
lem. Moreover, the “old” immigration was largely made up 
of individuals who were similar to the original American 
colonists in political ideals, social training, and economic 
background. The “old” immigration therefore merged with 
the native stock fairly easily and rapidly. 

The “new” immigration. —'Up to about 1880 the great 
majority of our immigrants came from northern and western 
Europe. The numbers from southern and eastern Europe 
gradually increased and became unusually large after 1882. 
In that year, for example, 71.3 per cent of our immigrants 
came from northern and western Europe, 10.5 per cent from 
southern and eastern Europe, and 18.2 from all other areas. 
By 1907 the situation was almost reversed. In that year only 
17.7 per cent came from northern and western Europe, 
whereas 75.5 per cent were from southern and eastern 
Europe. Nearly the same percentages held true for 1914. 

The “new” immigration was racially, culturally, and lin¬ 
guistically very different from our native stock and from the 
“old” immigration. Few of the immigrants from southern 
and eastern Europe had had any experience in political 
affairs; they were unable to reach the customary standard of 
living in this country; most of them were unskilled laborers; 
illiteracy was excessively high; and far more men than 
women came, a situation that caused large numbers to be¬ 
come dissatisfied and to return to their native lands. These 
are some of the facts that caused Congress to alter its policy 
of welcoming everyone to the “land of opportunity.” 

Those who make up the “new” immigration are assimi- 


390 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


lated less rapidly: the volume of immigration was formerly 
very great; and rather than being uniformly distributed, 
the “new” immigrants tended to concentrate in cities where 
they were often little subject to contact with natives. Mem¬ 
bers of foreign “colonies” not only tend to remain ignorant 
of American life, but unfamiliarity with self-government en¬ 
courages their exploitation by political “bosses.” It is ad¬ 
mitted by the most careful students that the lack of proper 
civic ideals among unassimilated foreigners in American cities 
is a large element in the corruption of our municipal govern¬ 
ments. 

Immigration laws. — Exclusive control of immigration is 
vested in the federal government. During the Civil War 
Congress actually encouraged immigration, but since 1882 
our policy has been one of restriction. In the latter year the 
first general immigration act was passed, though considerable 
legislation on the subject was already on the statute books. 
A brief summary of immigration acts will serve to show the 
nature and extent of federal control over immigration. 

The chief aim of our immigration laws has been so to 
restrict immigration as to protect us against undesirable 
persons. In the interest of health, persons afflicted with con¬ 
tagious diseases, such as tuberculosis, and trachoma — a 
virulent eye disease —, are excluded. Certain persons whose 
character is clearly immoral are excluded. Polygamists are 
excluded. The Act of 1917 excludes anarchists, and likewise 
bars from our shores all criminals, except those who have 
committed political offenses not recognized by the United 
States. In order to reduce unnecessary tax burdens, as well 
as to safeguard community health, we also exclude insane 
persons, idiots, epileptics, beggars, and other persons likely 
to become public charges. Contract laborers are specifically 
excluded, the Act of 1917 using the term “contract labor” 
to include anyone “induced, assisted, encouraged, or so¬ 
licited” to come to this country “by any kind of promise or 
agreement, express or implied, true or false, to find em¬ 
ployment.” Persons over sixteen years of age are excluded 


IMMIGRATION 391 

from the United States if they cannot read English or some 
other language. 

In 1921, 1924, and 1928 Congress passed various restric¬ 
tions on immigration, the details of which we can ignore, but 
the provisions now in effect deserve our attention. Present 
laws are based upon the principle of “national origins,” a 
policy which aims at the selection of immigrants. The total 
annual quota immigration is limited to about 150,000. The 
quota of each country is the number which bears the same 
proportion to 150,000 as the number of that nationality in 
the United States in 1920 bears to the total population. For 
example, suppose that in 1920 there were 1,000,000 Estoni¬ 
ans in the United States. The annual quota from Esthonia 
then will be (x : 150,000 :: 1,000,000 : 122,775,046) 1221. 

We must hasten to point out that the countries of the 
Western Hemisphere are not subject to these laws; they 
are outside the quota basis. For example, immigration from 
Mexico, Canada, and the countries of South America is not 
limited as to numbers, but it appears to be only a matter of 
time until the quota limitation will also be applied to 
them. 

Immigration laws have brought about several results. 

(1) They have drastically limited the number of immigrants. 

(2) They have by providing rigid standards and examina¬ 
tions raised the quality. (3) They are preserving our racial 
proportions. (4) They have by numerous improvements 
lessened inconveniences for the immigrant. 

Distribution of immigrants. — One of the most significant 
facts in connection with the immigration problem is that our 
immigrant population is unequally distributed. About two- 
thirds of the immigrants in this country are in the North 
Atlantic division; about a quarter of them are located in the 
North Central division; while less than one tenth are located 
in the western and southern sections of the country combined. 
Three-fourths of our foreign-born live in the cities 1 of the 

1 See the table in Chapter XVI for the percentage of foreign-born in 
various cities. 


392 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


North Atlantic and North Central divisions. In the smaller 
manufacturing cities of the North Atlantic division it often 
happens that from half to four-fifths of the population is 
foreign-born. 

Economic effects of immigration. — In the earlier part of 
our national history free land was abundant and immigration 
relatively small in volume; after the eighties free land dis¬ 
appeared and immigration increased rapidly. It was toward 
the end of the nineteenth century, therefore, that the eco¬ 
nomic aspect of the immigration problem became acute. In 
the last decades of that century manufacturing developed 
rapidly, and American cities became important centers of 
population. Large numbers of immigrants were attracted 
by the opportunities for employment in urban centers. In 
addition to this factor, immigrants continued to concentrate 
in the cities, partly because of the spirit of clannishness, 
partly because of the disappearance of free land, and partly 
because the development of agricultural machinery reduced 
the demand for agricultural laborers. Still another influence 
was the fact that the unfamiliar American farm was less 
attractive to the southern European immigrant than was 
the opportunity of performing unskilled labor in the city. 
A large percentage of our immigrants are unskilled laborers 
who are employed chiefly in mining, construction work, trans¬ 
portation, and domestic service. 

From the economic standpoint, the chief objection to unre¬ 
stricted immigration is that it prevents the wages of American 
workmen from rising as rapidly as would otherwise be the 
case. The newly arrived immigrant usually has a lower 
standard of living than has the native American; that is to 
say, the immigrant is content with less in the way of food, 
clothing, house room, and education than is the native. 
When newly arrived immigrants come into competition with 
native workmen, the immigrant generally offers to work for 
a lower wage than the native. But though relatively low, 
this wage is so much higher than the newly arrived immigrant 
has been used to, that he feels justified in marrying early and 


IMMIGRATION 393 

rearing a large family. This adds to the supply of unskilled 
labor. 

In order to compete with the recent immigrant, the native 
must accept relatively low wages. In order to get along on 
these relatively low wages, the native must either lower his 
standard of living or postpone marriage. Sometimes he has 
lowered his standard of living; sometimes he has preferred 
to retain his relatively high standard of living, and to get 
along on the decreased wage either by postponing marriage, 
or by permanently abandoning his plans for a normal family 
life. It is contended, therefore, that an oversupply of un¬ 
skilled immigrant labor in this country has had at least two 
injurious results. First, it has kept the standard of living of 
American workmen from rising as rapidly as would other¬ 
wise have been possible. Second, it has caused the birth 
rate to decline among the native groups. 

Social effects of immigration. — The tendency of immi¬ 
grants to concentrate in American cities gives rise to some 
serious social problems. Urban congestion is unqualifiedly 
bad. It is difficult or impossible for immigrants living 
in crowded quarters to maintain proper health standards. 
Nor is overcrowding conducive to healthy morals. The 
foreign-born do not show an unusual tendency toward crime, 
which is remarkable when we consider the immigrant’s 
ignorance of our laws, as well as the ease with which un¬ 
scrupulous persons exploit him. On the other hand, the 
children of the foreign-born often show a strong tendency 
toward crime and vice, a fact which is attributed to the bad 
social conditions surrounding their homes. The percentage 
of dependency among immigrants is rather high. This is 
not surprising, however, for many immigrants must go 
through an adjustment period in which lack of financial 
reserves is likely to force them to call upon charitable agencies 
for temporary aid. 

Asiatic immigration. — Asiatic immigration refers chiefly 
to the Chinese and Japanese, for immigrants from other parts 
of Asia are relatively few. 


394 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


The discovery of gold in California in 1849 caused a large 
number of Chinese coolies to migrate to this country. This 
immigration grew steadily until 1882, in which year the en¬ 
trance of Chinese laborers into the United States was for¬ 
bidden. Our exclusion policy has been repeatedly reaffirmed, 
as the result of which there are today only 74,954 Chinese in 
this country. The majority of these are found on the Pacific 
Coast, engaged as small tradesmen, truck farmers, or per¬ 
sonal servants. 

Japanese immigration to this country did not become 
noticeable until about 1900. After that date, however, the 
volume of Japanese immigration so alarmed the Pacific Coast 
states that a Japanese exclusion policy was formulated as 
early as 1907. At present the only classes of Japanese that 
are allowed to reside in this country permanently are “for¬ 
mer residents,” “parents, wives, or children of residents,” 
or “settled agriculturists,” the latter being Japanese already 
in possession of land here. There are at present 138,834 
Japanese in this country. Most of them are found on the 
Pacific Coast, engaged in occupations similar to those of the 
Chinese in the same area. 1 

Those most familiar with the situation are practically 
unanimous in declaring for the continued exclusion of Chinese 
and Japanese immigrants. In the case of both races, the 
standard of living is so much lower than that of native 
Americans that open competition between the newly arrived 
Asiatic and the native American would result in the latter 
being driven from the labor market. The most important 
social reason for the exclusion of these two races is that the 
differences of race and religion existing between Asiatics and 
native Americans render assimilation of the Chinese and 
Japanese extremely difficult, if not impossible. 

The future of immigration. — A half century ago the belief 
was current that an immigration policy was unnecessary, 
since the sources of immigration would eventually dry up. 

1 Chinese and Japanese students desiring to study in this country are 
allowed to enter the United States by special arrangement. 


IMMIGRATION 


395 


The sources of the “old” immigration have dried up some¬ 
what, but new sources have been opened up in southern and 
southeastern Europe. Immigration is a pressing social prob¬ 
lem, and it is likely that it will be even more pressing in the 
future. The American frontier has disappeared and our 
boundaries are fixed. Urbanization is proceeding at a rapid 
rate, industry is becoming more complex, public opinion is 
more insistent that such social problems as immigration shall 
be solved. 

What shall be our attitude toward immigration? — There 
is no good reason why immigration should be absolutely 
prohibited. On the other hand, the most public-spirited stu¬ 
dents of the question believe that the careful restriction 
policy which has been adopted was necessary. Clearly, it is 
our duty to accept only such immigrants as show promise of 
becoming capable and efficient American citizens. It is 
also clearly our duty to accept even this type of immigrant 
only in such numbers as we can conveniently assimilate. We 
must not be selfish with America, but we should not be mis¬ 
led by the statement that anyone in Europe has a “right” 
to make his home in this country. Those who come to this 
country are personally benefited, no doubt, but unrestricted 
immigration may lower the tone of American life and per¬ 
manently injure our social and political institutions. America 
is for the present generation, but it is also for posterity. The 
millions of unborn have as much right to be considered as 
the immigrants who may clamor at our gates. For this 
reason, the “right” of an individual to migrate to America 
must be interpreted in the light of what he will mean to the 
future of this country. 

Helping the immigrant in his new home. — The readjust¬ 
ment, assimilation, or Americanization ' of the immigrant 
is a problem of vital importance. The term “Americaniza¬ 
tion” is variously interpreted, and must be used with care. 
Americanization ought not to force the immigrant to give up 
his native tongue, or his old-country customs. It ought to 
be a mutually helpful process, whereby native Americans 


396 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


would help the immigrant in adjusting himself to his new 
environment, while, in turn, the immigrant would be per¬ 
mitted and encouraged to make his own contribution to 
American life. Since the immigrant has little or no oppor¬ 
tunity to contribute to American life until he has become 
adjusted to his new home, it follows that the most funda¬ 
mental part of an Americanization program is one of helping 
the immigrant solve his problems. 

In carrying out this part of the Americanization program 
it is essential that the newly arrived alien be protected against 
unscrupulous persons who seek to exploit him. Adequate 
laws ought to be supplemented by the work of immigrant aid 
societies and other private organizations whose duty it would 
be to protect immigrants against dishonest boarding houses, 
swindlers, unreliable banks, and other forms of imposition. 
Friendly help of this type will do much toward encouraging 
and inspiring the alien in his new life. 

Improvement in the immigrant’s economic status is an im¬ 
portant part of an Americanization program. Not only does 
the undue concentration of immigrants in cities spell ill health 
and a great temptation to crime and vice, but immigrant 
laborers sometimes secure lower wages in cities than they 
would receive in the more sparsely settled parts of the 
country. Of considerable interest, therefore, is the recent 
development of plans for redistributing immigrants into the 
rural and sparsely populated districts. Since 1907 the 
Division of Information in the Bureau of Labor Statistics 
has done valuable work in finding employment for immigrants 
in rural districts. Much remains to be done, however. 

The school, of course, is an important agent of American¬ 
ization. Whether or not the immigrant retains his old- 
country language, he ought to learn to speak, read and write 
English. The school is likewise an important means of in¬ 
structing the newcomers and their children in the essentials 
of American history and government. Where the school is 
being used as a real community center, the institution be¬ 
comes truly a method of introducing the foreign-born to the 


IMMIGRATION 


397 


everyday activities of American life. The increasing em¬ 
phasis upon the racial traits of different immigrant groups, 
with a view to encouraging unique contributions to the 
culture of the community, deserves recognition and encour¬ 
agement. 


Activities and References 
Significant Words and Phrases 

Racial elements, native-born, racial proportions, net gain, “old” immigration, 
“new” immigration, assimilation, restriction, contract laborers, national ori¬ 
gins, quota, Americanization. 


Questions 

1. What proportion of our population is foreign-born? 

2. About how many immigrants have been admitted to the United States 

since 1820? 

3. During what years was the increase of immigrants moving into this 

country most striking? 

4. What do we mean by the “old” immigration? 

5. What do w$ mean by the “new” immigration? 

6. Why was much of the new immigration less desirable than the old? 

7. Why is America sometimes called the land of opportunity? 

8. Explain the following statement: “The chief aim of our immigration 

laws was so to restrict immigration as to protect us against un¬ 
desirable persons.” 

9. How are the annual quotas determined? 

10. Are the countries of the western hemisphere subject to these laws? 

11. What four very important results have been brought about by these 

laws? 

12. Where do most of our foreign-born live? 

13. What are some economic effects of immigration? 

14. Explain the relation of immigration to wages and the standard of 

living of American workmen. 

15. What are some social effects of immigration? 

16. What is the nature of Asiatic immigration? 

17. Why are Asiatics excluded? 

18. Does it seem likely that the immigration problem will be more or less 

acute in the future? 

19. What should be our attitude toward immigration? 

20. What is the chief aim of a good Americanization program? 


398 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


Problems 

1. Problem: To understand the attitude of Californians toward the 
Japanese. Method: Read the selection in Williamson, Readings in 
American Democracy, pp. 273-275. 

2. Problem: To appreciate the difficulties of immigrants in gaining access 
to America. Method: Interview someone who has come through 
Ellis Island and learn the various kinds of tests and examinations 
through which immigrants must pass. 

3. Problem: To understand how the present immigration law is applied. 
Method: Suppose that in 1920 there were 4,500,000 Greeks in the 
United States. Use the formula given in this chapter and find out 
how many Greeks will be admitted annually. 

4. Problem: To understand why labor has usually opposed unrestricted 
immigration. Method: Analyze this statement: Restrictive immi¬ 
gration laws are to labor as a protective tariff is to industry. 

5. Problem: To understand how an immigrant becomes a citizen. 
Method: Interview an immigrant who has become a citizen and list 
the steps which he tells you were necessary; or, take notes on the 
subject from Magruder’s American Government. Also see “Naturali¬ 
zation” in the Glossary. 


References 

Arnold, Problems in American Life 

Dow, Social Problems 

Towne, Social Problems 

Williamson, Readings in American Democracy 


CHAPTER XXXIII 


CRIME 

The nature of crime. — A crime is an act which is punish¬ 
able by law because it is considered injurious to the com¬ 
munity. If the average man were a hermit, living entirely 
alone, his actions would affect only himself, and he would be 
subjected to little or no control by any community. But the 
average man is a member of a highly civilized community, 
and what he does, or what he fails to do, often profoundly 
affects other individuals. Members of the community there¬ 
fore agree upon standards of conduct, to which individuals 
must conform. It is the failure to conform to these standards 
which constitutes a crime, and which entails punishment by 
law. 

What constitutes a crime depends, of course, upon the level 
of civilization reached by a community, and upon the inter¬ 
pretation which it places upon right conduct. A deed con¬ 
sidered heroic in one age may be considered a crime in a later 
century. In the days of chivalry, for example, it was some¬ 
times considered heroic to rob or even kill wicked nobles in 
order to distribute their wealth to the poor. At the present 
time, of course, such acts would constitute a crime. 

Kinds of crime. — Crimes are divided into two major 
classes, felonies and misdemeanors. A felony is an offense 
punishable by death or imprisonment in a federal or state 
institution. The term misdemeanor is used to include all 
other offenses. 

In 1930 the Department of Justice prepared a uniform 
crime report which provides for the most prevalent kinds of 
crime. As listed in the report, they are (1) murder, (2) man¬ 
slaughter (mostly automobile accidents), (3) rape, (4) rob- 

399 


400 PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 

bery, (5) assault, (6) burglary, (7) theft, and (8) auto theft. 
There are other crimes, such as arson, forgery, bigamy, 
perjury, and libel or slander, all of which are defined in the 
Glossary. 

Extent of crime. — When one recalls the varied courts and 
agencies for trying criminals, one can readily appreciate the 
difficulty of securing exact figures on crime. There are 
about 400,000 annual commitments to prisons and jails. 
The prison population on January 1, 1930, was 116,670. 
The number at any one time is naturally much less than the 
total annual turnover. From 1910 to 1930 the ratio of 
prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants increased from 32 to about 
51. It is well to note that about forty-three per cent of all 
prisoners have served previous sentences. 

There are about 10,000 homicides <a term used to include 
murder and manslaughter) annually. The homicide rate 
has doubled in the past twenty years and exceeds that of 
any other civilized country. It is exceedingly difficult to 
discover the frequency of crimes, but it is probable that the 
following order is approximately correct: theft, burglary, 
liquor and drug law violations, robbery, forgery, homicide, 
assault, and rape. 

Crime costs have been estimated, but grand totals have no 
significance. The cost can, however, be appreciated when 
we realize that the annual cost of criminal justice in Chicago 
amounts to $6.65 per person; in Jersey City, $11.30; in 
Cleveland, $4.90; and in Los Angeles, $6.18. 

The causes of crime. — The causes of crime are so various 
and so complex that their accurate classification is impossi¬ 
ble. But some light may be thrown upon the subject if we 
think of crime as influenced by economic, social, personal, 
and political factors. 

Poverty often accompanies crime. In many cases, it is 
claimed that such crimes as larceny, forgery, and robbery are 
directly traceable to poverty. Similarly, it is said that un¬ 
employment and industrial accidents may incite individuals 
to crime. Many authorities claim, however, that while bad 


CRIME 


401 


economic conditions accompany and often encourage crime, 
such conditions alone are not a direct cause of crime. Ac¬ 
cording to this latter view, poverty, for example, will not 
cause a person to commit a crime unless he is feeble-minded, 
depraved in morals, or otherwise defective in character. 

While there is a good deal of dispute as to whether or not 
poverty is a direct cause of crime, it is quite generally agreed 
that a bad economic situation gives rise to social conditions 
which can be definitely connected with criminality. The 
strain and artificiality of urban life, together with the diffi¬ 
culty of obtaining inexpensive and wholesome recreation in 
the poorer sections of large cities, has a close connection 
with crime. The overcrowding so common in tenement dis¬ 
tricts renders difficult or impossible the maintenance of high 
moral standards. Where mothers or children are habitually 
employed outside the home, the young are often denied 
proper home training. Divorce, desertion, or the death of 
the bread-winner may break up the family and indirectly 
give rise to illiteracy, vice, and crime. 

Often indistinguishable from the social causes are the per¬ 
sonal causes of crime. Where alcoholism or vicious habits 
are given as the cause of crime, it may be impossible to say 
whether social or personal defect is primarily to blame. 
Illiteracy, superficially a personal cause of crime, may often 
be traced to a bad social environment. Thus an individual 
may be illiterate because his parents were unwilling or unable 
to send him to school, or because evil companions discour¬ 
aged him from study. Such personal causes as mental defect 
are extremely important; indeed, many students maintain 
that bad economic and social conditions are negligible causes 
of crime, unless found in connection with low mentality and 
a depraved moral sense. 

Last among the causes of crime we may consider defects in 
government. The laws of a community may be so numerous, 
or so unwisely worded, that even responsible individuals vi¬ 
olate them without understanding the nature of their act. 
After children have committed petty offenses through care- 


402 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


lessness or a sense of mischief, the harshness of the police 
may so embitter or antagonize the culprits that their criminal 
tendencies are intensified. An important cause of crime is 
the custom, still common in many states, of imprisoning 
young and first offenders in county jails, where they are 
allowed to mingle with hardened and depraved criminals and 
learn about crime from them. 

The remedies for crime. — The causes of crime suggest 
the nature of its remedies. Wherever bad economic condi¬ 
tions either directly or indirectly encourage crime, the 
remedy is, of course, the relief or abolition of poverty. This 
problem has already been discussed. 

Since bad social conditions are often the result of poverty, 
any measures which will lessen poverty will also remove many 
of the so-called social causes of crime. Education, the safe¬ 
guarding of the home, constructive charity, and similar meas¬ 
ures will also help to remove the social causes of crime. 
These questions are discussed elsewhere in this text, and need 
not be gone into here. 

The improvement of economic and social conditions will 
ultimately help to eliminate bad heredity, vice, and other of 
the personal causes of crime. 

With the understanding, then, that the eradication of the 
economic, social and personal causes of crime is discussed 
elsewhere, we may here confine ourselves to the question of 
preventing crime by remedying the defects of government. 

Justice as an ideal. — Justice has constituted one of the 
basic ideals of the English-speaking peoples since the days 
of Magna Charta. “ To no one will we sell, and to no one will 
we refuse or delay, right or justice,” declared that great docu¬ 
ment. This conception was later glorified into an ideal which, 
after having persisted for four centuries in England, was 
brought to the New World by the English colonists. The 
first ten amendments to the federal Constitution and the 
Bill of Rights contained in the constitutions of the several 
states have been called by Lord Bryce “the legitimate chil¬ 
dren of Magna Charta.” Since the beginning of our history, 


CRIME 


403 


thus, a great cornerstone of American democracy has been 
the concept of sound and equitable law, impartially and ef¬ 
fectively administered. 

The denial of justice. — Within the last decade we have 
come to realize that in many of the criminal courts of this 
country justice is an ideal rather than a fact. “The ad¬ 
ministration of criminal law in all the states of this Union,” 
said the late Chief Justice Taft, “is a disgrace to civiliza¬ 
tion.” 

Our criminal law is administered unjustly in two ways: 
First, it sometimes allows the rich, the cunning, and the 
powerful offenders to escape the penalty for their crimes. In 
many states the court dockets are so crowded that influential 
offenders are not convicted for years, if at all. Rich prisoners 
may be released on bail, and consideration of their case so 
delayed that the evidence disappears. Public interest is 
diverted to new cases, and eventually the case may be quietly 
dismissed. Mr. Taft pointed out that we lead the world in the 
number of serious crimes which go unpunished. Appeals are 
allowed almost as a matter of course, so that in many serious 
criminal trials the original verdict is only the beginning of the 
case. 

Second, the law which often allows the powerful and crafty 
to avoid punishment may operate to deny justice to the poor. 
Ignorant prisoners are in many cases so bewildered by cum¬ 
bersome and technical court procedure that they allow their 
cases to be disposed of without adequate protection of their 
rights. Often they have no one to advise them as to their con¬ 
stitutional rights and privileges. If they are not only igno¬ 
rant but poor, they find themselves unable to employ proper 
counsel. The Constitution indeed recognizes the right of 
an accused person to have counsel, but in many states if a 
man is too poor or too ignorant to secure a lawyer, he is 
obliged to stand trial without anyone to represent or advise 
him. In some states, the court appoints a lawyer to represent 
such defendants. Sometimes the assigned counsel is dis¬ 
honest, and too often his primary object is to get a fee rather 


404 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


than to secure justice for his client. Generally the counsel 
so appointed is inexperienced, and consequently no match 
for an able and experienced prosecuting attorney, whose 
reputation may depend upon the number of convictions that 
he secures. 

The reform of criminal procedure. — The reform of crim¬ 
inal procedure is assuming great importance as a problem 
of American democracy. In many states there is a demand 
for a wider and more energetic use of records and finger¬ 
print systems for the identification of criminals. Because of 
the fact that in our large cities a heavy percentage of crimes 
are committed without the subsequent arrest of the culprit, 
there is a growing demand for the improvement of our police 
systems. Our criminal law needs to be simplified, so that 
justice may not be delayed by technicalities, long arguments 
on the admissibility of evidence, and the abuse of the right 
of appeal. Probably a good many of the delays and techni¬ 
calities of legal procedure could be avoided if at the trial the 
judge could exercise a greater amount of control over the 
proceedings. 

The reform of criminal procedure has a double aim. First, 
it aims to reorganize and perfect criminal procedure so that 
persons who have committed an offense will be apprehended 
and always made to pay the penalty for their crimes. To¬ 
ward the achievement of this ideal we have as yet done very 
little. We are still woefully behind such a country as Eng¬ 
land, where justice is administered with relative rapidity and 
sureness. Second, the reform of criminal procedure aims to 
prevent the law from bearing with undue weight upon the 
poor and ignorant. Here we are making greater progress. 
Let us notice what is being done to guarantee justice to 
persons who are unable adequately to safeguard their own 
legal rights. 

The legal aid society. — A valuable institution is the legal 
aid society, which originated in New York City in 1876, and 
which has since spread to other parts of the country. Of 
the forty legal aid societies now in existence in this country, 


CRIME 


405 


some of the better known are located in New York City, Los 
Angeles, Kansas City, Boston, and Chicago. The legal aid 
society is generally a private organization, created and main¬ 
tained by public-spirited citizens who believe that the poor 
and ignorant ought to be given legal advice free of charge, 
or upon the payment of a nominal fee. These societies ex¬ 
tend advice on both civil and criminal matters. The legal 
aid society helps materially to secure justice by acquainting 
the individual with his legal rights, and by acting as his 
counsel in court. Such organizations are especially valuable 
in safeguarding the rights and privileges of immigrants in 
large cities. The total number of persons helped annually 
by legal aid societies in the United States is over 100,000. 

Changing ideals in penology. — In the early stages of so¬ 
ciety the spirit of revenge seems to have been a chief motive 
in the punishment of criminals, although the desire to prevent 
crime must also have been a factor. With the progress of 
civilization revenge declined in importance, and the punish¬ 
ment of the criminal seems to have been undertaken chiefly 
for the purpose of preventing future crimes. Long periods of 
imprisonment, inhuman punishments, and the frequent use 
of the death penalty were characteristic of this attitude 
toward crime. Curiously enough, punishments were im¬ 
posed according to the seriousness of the crime committed, 
without regard to the character and needs of the criminal. 

Of recent years the theory of punishment has been still 
further modified. In the first place, we have begun to doubt 
if punishment always serves a useful purpose. Punishment 
does not always deter criminals, and for this reason it is 
likely that the death penalty and other cruel and inhuman 
methods of punishment may be dispensed with, without a 
resultant increase in the amount of crime. In the second 
place, punishment has taken on a new aim. More and more 
we are coming to believe that it should be imposed, not ac¬ 
cording to the seriousness of the crime committed, but ac¬ 
cording as the individual criminal needs to be punished in 
order to effect his reformation. This new attitude is based 


406 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


upon the assumption that the criminal is a person who is 
not adapted to the conditions of modern life, and that the 
chief aim of the authorities should be so to reform him that 
he will become a useful member of society. In case reform 
seems impossible, the criminal should be segregated in an 
institution. 

Within recent years several studies have been made of 
criminal law and punishment. In 1931 the Wickersham 
Commission, appointed by President Hoover, reported that 
our police systems are corrupt and inefficient, that our de¬ 
portation system is illegal, tyrannical, and oppressive, that 
the foreign-born commit fewer crimes in proportion to their 
numbers than do the native-born, and that our prison system 
is a costly, brutal failure. Such findings are not pleasant, but 
they will probably lead to attempts to correct abuses and 
reform procedures. 

Individualized treatment of offenders. — The emphasis 
now placed upon reformation has made necessary a new 
point of view on the part of the public. We are beginning to 
make use of a mass of data furnished by physiology, psy¬ 
chology, and sociology, and on the basis of these data to 
subject prisoners to individualized treatment. Instead of 
herding all offenders into a single institution such as the 
county jail or the penitentiary, we are beginning to inquire, 
first of all, whether the prisoner might not be treated most 
effectively outside prison walls. For those offenders who 
seem to require institutional treatment, we are developing 
a whole series of institutions, designed to care for special 
types of abnormality. Industrial and farm colonies for petty 
offenders and occasional criminals, hospitals and colonies for 
the mentally defective, industrial schools and reformatories 
for certain types of juvenile offenders, and penitentiaries for 
hardened offenders, all these are included in the correctional 
system of the more progressive states. 

Substitutes for imprisonment. — The belief is growing 
that young offenders, first offenders, and those committing 
petty crimes, may often be corrected without actual imprison- 


CRIME 


407 


ment. Increasingly common is the probation system, the 
essence of which is to suspend the sentence of the court upon 
certain conditions. The offender is placed in charge of a 
court officer who will stand in the relation of friend and 
guardian to him, in order to supervise his conduct and to 
attempt his reformation. The success of the probation sys¬ 
tem depends largely upon the care and judgment with which 
probation officers control their charges. 

The use of the fine deserves mention. Generally the sen¬ 
tence for a petty offense is a fine, with imprisonment as an 
alternative in case the prisoner is unable to pay the fine. 
Realizing the corrupting influence of the jail sentence for 
first or slight offenders, court officials in many cities are 
making the payment of the fine less difficult. In Buffalo, 
Indianapolis, Chicago, and other cities it is customary in 
some cases to allow the payment of a fine in instalments. 
This ultimately secures the fine; it has a disciplinary effect 
upon the offender; and it keeps him out of jail. 

Mental defectives. — Recent progress in medicine and 
psychology has demonstrated that many criminals are men¬ 
tally defective. Such persons are not fully responsible for 
their acts, and nothing is to be gained by committing them to 
prison. They need special treatment in institutions for the 
insane, the feeble-minded, and the otherwise defective. In 
recognition of this fact, the criminal courts of our larger cities 
now make extensive use of psychopathic experts. It is the 
duty of these experts to determine the mental status of the 
prisoner, and, in case he is found to be mentally defective, 
to recommend the type of treatment needed. 

This is an admirable development, provided care is taken 
to prevent the abuse of the insanity plea by influential 
criminals who, though normal mentally, seek to evade re¬ 
sponsibility for their deliberate crimes. 

The juvenile offender. — It has been proved that a large 
percentage of hardened criminals begin their careers by some 
careless or mischievous act for which they were severely or un¬ 
wisely punished. Formerly, juvenile offenders were treated 


408 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


much as were adult criminals; more recently we are coming 
to believe that children ought not to be committed to penal 
institutions, but rather should be put on probation, or sent to 
correctional institutions of a special type. Wherever possible, 
institutional treatment of every kind ought to be avoided, for 
the crimes of children are clearly in a different class from those 
of the adult. In New York City a few years ago, for example, 
half the children brought into court were there because of the 
lack of recreation facilities. Petty theft and malicious mis¬ 
chief are often traceable to bad home influences and the un¬ 
natural surroundings of the city. These circumstances, 
coupled with the fact that immature children are often un¬ 
aware of the seriousness of their lawless acts, justify the 
special treatment of the juvenile offender. 

The juvenile court. — The juvenile court has been created 
to meet the special needs of the youthful offender. An early 
institution of this kind was established in Chicago in 1889. 
Shortly afterward Denver established a juvenile court, and 
since then many other cities have taken up the idea. In 
some states county judges are authorized to suspend the 
ordinary rules of procedure where the defendant is under 
eighteen years of age. 

A typical juvenile court provides separate judges and sep¬ 
arate hearings for youthful prisoners. It avoids publicity, 
investigates the home life of the youthful offender, and at¬ 
tempts by kindly treatment to guide him back into a whole¬ 
some, honest life. In some cases delinquent children are 
sent back to school, in other cases they are placed on proba¬ 
tion, in still other cases special institutional treatment is 
provided. Every effort is made to keep juvenile offenders 
from associating with habitual criminals. The aim of the 
court is not to punish the offender for a particular offense, 
but to weigh all the circumstances which have influenced 
his life, and to correct his wrong tendencies. Work of this 
type is preventive in the fullest sense of the word. 

The indeterminate sentence. — The realization that pun¬ 
ishment ought to fit the criminal rather than the crime has 


CRIME 


409 


led to the indeterminate sentence. Though not yet widely 
applied, this reform is attracting more and more attention. 
A logical application of the indeterminate sentence would re¬ 
quire prisoners to be committed to prison, not for a specific 
term, but for an indefinite period. The actual length of the 
prison term would depend upon the prison record of the in¬ 
dividual, and upon the promise that he showed of becoming 
a useful and normal citizen if released. According to this 
plan, occasional criminals, and persons enticed or forced into 
wrong-doing, would be entitled to release (regardless of the 
character of the crime) as soon as it became apparent that 
they would not repeat the offense. Hardened criminals, on 
the other hand, might remain in prison permanently, even 
though committed for a trifling offense. Certainly we ought 
not to continue to commit and to re-commit hardened crim¬ 
inals for short terms, when their past conduct proves that 
they have neither the intention nor the ability to make 
proper use of their freedom. 

The function of the modern prison. — In addition to the 
principle of the indeterminate sentence, modern penology 
has approved a whole series of supplementary measures. The 
ideal prison of today is not a gloomy dungeon, but a great 
plant which attempts to turn criminals into useful citizens 
through the use of the school, the chapel, the workshop, the 
gymnasium, the library, and even the theatre. Discipline, 
the fundamental weakness of offenders against the law, is a 
cornerstone of prison life. More and more prisons are adopt¬ 
ing the merit system, according to which prisoners are graded 
and promoted to additional privileges on the basis of be¬ 
havior. In many prisons these privileges may include an 
“honor system” and “inmate self-government.” The prison 
attempts to supply the deficiencies in the convict’s early 
training. Prisoners are taught to take care of their bodies. 
They are taught useful trades, according to their abilities. 
If illiterate they may go to the prison school. Religious 
exercises and moral instruction are employed to develop a 
sense of moral values. 


410 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


When consistent good behavior and earnest endeavor in 
prison duties indicate that the prisoner is entitled to another 
chance in the outside world, he may be paroled, that is to say, 
he may be released on certain conditions. Generally prisoners 
are not paroled until some person is found who will guarantee 
them employment. In many states the work of the parole 
board is ably supplemented by unofficial prisoners' aid so¬ 
cieties which help the released man to readjust himself to a 
free life. After a certain period of satisfactory conduct on 
parole the prisoner is entitled to a full and unconditional dis¬ 
charge. The whole aim of the parole system is to supervise 
the actions of the prisoner, without adding to his irritation 
or humiliation, but with sufficient strictness to guard him 
against temptation and to replace him in prison if he proves 
unworthy of the trust bestowed upon him. 

Activities and References 
Significant Words and Phrases 

Crime, felony, misdemeanor, manslaughter, arson, bigamy, perjury, libel, 
homicide, larceny, individualized treatment, probation, mental defectives, 
psychopathic experts, indeterminate sentence, parole. 

Questions 

1. What is crime? 

2. Explain the statement, “What constitutes a crime depends upon the 

level of civilization reached by a community.” 

3. What are the two major classes of crime? 

4. Name seven of the most prevalent kinds of crime. 

5. What evidence can you show concerning the extent of crime within 

the United States? 

6. Mention eight causes of crime. 

7. How can crime be prevented? 

8. Explain the statement, “Justice is an ideal rather than a fact.” 

9. Name two ways in which our criminal law is administered unjustly. 

10. Mention three ways in which we are reforming criminal procedure. 

11. What are the two chief aims of reform in criminal procedure? 

12. What is a legal aid society? 

13. Why were criminals punished in early times? 

14. How has our theory of punishment been modified in recent years? 


CRIME 


411 


15. What were the findings of the Wickersham Commission? 

16. Name five examples of individual treatment of offenders. 

17. What substitutes are sometimes offered for imprisonment? 

18. Why are mental defectives in need of special treatment? 

19. Why are juvenile offenders no longer treated as adult criminals? 

20. What are juvenile courts? Why do we have them? 

21. How does the indeterminate sentence fit the punishment to the 

criminal? 

22. Describe a modern prison. 

23. What is the parole? 

24. What is the aim of prisoners’ aid societies? 

Problems 

1. Problem: To appreciate the changing conception of crime. Method: 
List ten offenses which were not offenses twenty years ago. The 
automobile will suggest several. 

2. Problem: To explain America’s high homicide rate. Method: What is 
your explanation? Your teacher’s? Your father’s? 

3. Problem: To visualize the connection between poverty and crime. 
Method: Read from Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables the account of Jean 
Valjean stealing a loaf of bread. Also, construct an imaginary story 
of the poverty-stricken home whose boys become criminals. Try 
to show a direct connection. 

4. Examine: To examine the law’s delays. Method: Find out how long 
a period elapsed between the filing of a suit and its trial. The interval 
is probably much greater in cities. Why? 

5. Problem: To find out if criminals are treated well. Method: Use the 
Reader's Guide and discover an article on the Third Degree. Is the 
Third Degree actually used? If so, for what purpose? 

6. Problem: To learn about the work of the juvenile court. Method: 
If practicable, visit such a court; if not, look up the term in an en¬ 
cyclopedia and report the results to your class. 

References 

Arnold, Problems in American Life 
Dow, Social Problems of Today 
Encyclopedias, * 4 Penology ’’ 

Gault, Criminology 
Osborne, Within Prison Walls 
Towne, Social Problems 
Williamson, Introduction to Sociology 

-, Readings in American Democracy 

Wines, Punishment and Reformation 



CHAPTER XXXIV 


GOVERNMENT AND BUSINESS 

Necessity of public interest in business. — Although in¬ 
dividuals carry on business primarily for their own ends, the 
economic activities of men affect not only themselves, but 
the community as well. If every individual voluntarily con¬ 
fined his attention to those forms of business which strength¬ 
ened the community as well as adding to his own prosperity, 
there would be little need for laws regulating the conduct of 
business. But because experience has shown that some per¬ 
sons will seek to benefit themselves in ways that react to the 
injury of the community, it becomes necessary for law to 
adjust private and public interests. A community cannot 
remain indifferent to the economic activities of its citizens. 
Public interest in business is a fundamental necessity, if the 
community is to be safeguarded against the abuses of free 
enterprise. 

Nature of public interest in business. — In general, the 
object of laws regulating business is either to encourage help¬ 
ful business methods, or to discourage harmful business 
methods. A great deal of legislation has been designed posi¬ 
tively to encourage helpful business methods, yet it remains 
true that the most significant of our industrial laws have been 
aimed primarily at the discouragement of harmful business. 
A fundamental American ideal is to insure to the individual 
as much freedom of action as is consistent with the public 
interest. Thus we believe that if harmful business is con¬ 
trolled or suppressed, private initiative may be trusted to 
develop helpful business methods, without the aid of foster¬ 
ing legislation. In this chapter, therefore, we may confine 
our attention to legislation designed to suppress harmful 
business methods. 


412 


GOVERNMENT AND BUSINESS 


413 


The nature of monopoly. — We may begin the discussion 
by inquiring into the nature and significance of monopoly. 

Under openly competitive conditions the free play of sup¬ 
ply and demand between a number of producers and a num¬ 
ber of prospective consumers fixes the price of a commodity. 
In such cases consumers are protected against exorbitant 
prices by the fact that rival producers will underbid each 
other in the effort to sell their goods. 

But if the supply of a good, say wheat, is not in the hands of 
several rival producers, but is under the control of a unified 
group of persons, competition between the owners of the 
wheat is suppressed sufficiently to enable this unified group 
more nearly to dictate the price for which wheat shall sell. 
In such a case a monopoly is said to exist. Complete control 
of the supply of a commodity is rare, even for short periods, 
but modern business offers many instances of enterprises 
which are more or less monopolistic in character. 

The essential danger of monopoly is that those who have 
secured control of the available supply of a commodity will 
use that control to benefit themselves at the expense of the 
public. By combining their individual businesses, producers 
who were formerly rivals may secure the chief advantage of 
large-scale management. That is to say, the cost of produc¬ 
tion per unit may be decreased, because several combined 
plants might be operated more economically than several 
independent concerns. If the cost of production is decreased 
the combining producers can afford to lower the price of 
their product. But if they are practically in control of the 
entire supply, they will not lower the price unless it serves 
their interests to do so. Indeed it is more likely that they 
will take advantage of their monopoly to raise the price. 

Types of monopoly. — Monopolies are variously classified, 
but for our purpose they may be called either natural or 
unnatural. 

A natural monopoly may exist where, by the very nature of 
the business, competition is either impossible or socially un¬ 
desirable. Examples of this type of monopoly are gas and 


414 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


water works, street railways, steam railways, and similar 
industries. These will be discussed in the next chapter. 

Where an unnatural monopoly exists, it is not because the 
essential character of the business renders it unfit for the 
competitive system, but because competition has been arti¬ 
ficially suppressed. The traditional example of an unnatural 
monopoly is that form of large-scale combination which is 
popularly known as a trust. 

Basis of natural monopoly. — The most important ex¬ 
amples of natural monopoly are found in those industries 
which are known as public utilities. Public utilities include 
gas and electric light works, waterworks, telephone and tele¬ 
graph plants, and electric and steam railways. 

These industries are by their very nature unsuited to the 
competitive system. This is chiefly because they operate 
under the principle of decreasing cost, that is to say, the 
greater the volume of business handled by a single plant, the 
less the cost of production per unit. In order to serve 100,000 
customers with gas, for example, it may be necessary to 
make an initial outlay of $90,000 in plant and supplies. 
With this identical plant, however, the gas works could really 
manufacture gas sufficient to serve more than 100,000. If, 
later, the city grows and the number of customers using gas 
doubles, the gas works, already having its basic plant, will 
not have to expend another $90,000, but only, say, an addi¬ 
tional $30,000. 

This principle has the double effect of virtually prohibiting 
competition and of encouraging combination. Since a street 
or a neighborhood can be served with water or gas more 
cheaply by a single plant than by several competing plants, 
competing plants tend to combine in order to secure the 
economies resulting from decreasing cost and large-scale pro¬ 
duction. On the other hand, the cost of duplicating a set of 
water mains or a network of street car tracks is so prohibitive 
as to render competition undesirable, both from the stand¬ 
point of the utility and from the standpoint of the public. 

This natural tendency toward monopoly, together with the 


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GOVERNMENT AND BUSINESS 


415 


social importance of public utilities, has given rise to a de¬ 
mand that businesses of this type should be publicly owned. 
This problem of public ownership has received much atten¬ 
tion recently. Conservative senators predicted that the gov¬ 
ernment loan (February, 1932) to business will result in the 
eventual ownership of the railroads by the government. 

Regulation of local utilities. — In many American cities 
it was formerly the custom of the city council to confer 
valuable privileges upon public service corporations, such as 
telephone, gas, and electric companies, on terms that did not 
adequately safeguard the public interest. In making such 
grants, called franchises, city councils often permitted private 
corporations the free use of the streets and other public 
property for long periods of time or even in perpetuity. 

The abuses growing out of the careless use of the franchise 
granting power have recently led to a more strict supervision 
of franchises to public service corporations. In most cities, 
franchises are no longer perpetual, but are limited to a defi¬ 
nite and rather short period, say fifty years. To an increasing 
extent, franchises are drawn up by experts, so that the terms 
of the grant will safeguard the interests of the public. In 
many states there are now public service commissions that 
have the power to regulate privately owned utilities. The 
chief aim of such commissions is to keep informed as to the 
condition of the utilities, and to fix rates and charges which 
the commission considers fair and reasonable. 

Arguments for municipal ownership. — Those favoring 
municipal ownership, as opposed to regulation, declare that 
the conditions affecting rates change so rapidly that no pub¬ 
lic service commission can fix rates fairly or promptly. Pub¬ 
lic ownership would save the cost of regulation, in many 
cases a considerable item. It is claimed that regulation is 
inevitably a failure, and that in view of the social importance 
of public utilities, ownership is a logical and necessary step. 

Important social gains are claimed for municipal owner¬ 
ship. It is said that where the plan has been tried, it has 
promoted civic interest and has enlisted a higher type of 


416 PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 

public official. If all utilities were municipally owned, state 
legislatures and city councils would no longer be subjected 
to the danger of corruption by private corporations seeking 
franchises. If utilities were owned by the municipality, it 
is claimed, service and social welfare rather than profits 
would become the ideal. The public plant could afford to 
offer lower rates, because it would not be under the necessity 
of earning high profits. Finally, service could be extended 
into outlying or sparsely settled districts which are now 
neglected by privately owned companies because of the high 
expense and small profits that would result from such ex¬ 
tension. 

Arguments against municipal ownership. — Other students 
of the problem believe that public regulation of utilities is 
preferable to municipal ownership. Those holding this view 
maintain that on the whole regulation has proved satisfac¬ 
tory, and that ownership is therefore unnecessary. 

Rather than improving the public service by enlisting a 
higher type of public official, it is maintained, municipal 
ownership would increase political corruption by enlarging 
the number of positions which would become the spoils of 
the political party in power. The periodic political changes 
resulting from frequent elections in cities would demoralize 
the administration of the utilities. Under our present system 
of government, municipal ownership means a lack of cen¬ 
tralized control, a factor which would lessen administrative 
responsibility and encourage inefficiency. 

The opponents of municipal ownership also contend that 
the inefficiency resulting from this form of control would in¬ 
crease the cost of management. This increased cost would in 
turn necessitate higher rates. Moreover, municipal owner¬ 
ship might increase enormously the indebtedness of the 
municipality, since either private plants would have to be 
purchased, or new plants erected at public expense. 

Extent of municipal ownership. — Some cities have tried 
municipal ownership and have abandoned the scheme as 
unworkable. In some instances this failure has been due 


GOVERNMENT AND BUSINESS 


417 


to the inherent difficulties of the case, in other instances the 
inefficiency of the city administration has prevented success. 
In still other cities ownership of various utilities has proved 
markedly successful. 

Most American cities now own their own waterworks, and 
about one third of them own their own gas or electric light 
plants. A few cities own either a part or the whole of their 
street railways. Municipal ownership of public utilities is 
still in its infancy, but the movement is growing. 

Conditions of municipal ownership. — Past experience in¬ 
dicates several mistakes to be avoided in any future consid¬ 
eration of the problem of municipal ownership. 

The terms upon which the city purchases a utility ought 
not to be so severe as to discourage the future development 
of new utilities by private enterprise. 

Public ownership is practicable only when the utility has 
passed the experimental stage, for governmental agencies can¬ 
not effectively carry on the experiments, nor assume the risks, 
so essential to the development of a new enterprise. 

Any discussion of public ownership ought to include a con¬ 
sideration of social and political factors, as well as matters 
which are strictly economic. 

The question of municipal ownership should be decided 
purely on the basis of local conditions and for particular 
utilities. The successful ownership of street railways in one 
city does not necessarily mean that a second city may be 
equally successful in operating this utility. Nor does the 
successful administration of a gas works by one city neces¬ 
sarily mean that the same city can effectively administer 
its street railways. 

National ownership of railroads. — Parallel to the prob¬ 
lem of municipal ownership is that of national ownership. 
For nearly a century railroads constituted our chief means of 
transportation and still do, but they have been supplemented 
enormously within recent years by the fast developing system 
of busses and trucks. Let us inquire into the problem of the 
national ownership of railroads. 


418 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


The railroad history of the United States began when the 
Baltimore & Ohio was opened to traffic in 1830, but until the 
middle of the century transportation in this country was 
chiefly by wagon roads, rivers, and canals. After 1850 the 
westward expansion and the development of industry through¬ 
out the country greatly stimulated railway building. En¬ 
couraged by lavish land grants and other bounties extended 
by both state and federal governments, railroad corporations 
flung a network of railroads across the continent. Local roads 
were transformed, by extension and consolidation, into great 
trunk lines embracing thousands of miles. From 9,021 in 
1850 our railway mileage increased to 93,267 in 1880, to 
193,345 in 1900, and to approximately 260,000 in 1922. Sur¬ 
prisingly enough the number of miles in operation in 1930 
was only 242,517, a considerable decrease within the last 
decade. 

The principle of decreasing cost. — While the rapid de¬ 
velopment of American railroads has had an inestimable 
effect upon our national prosperity, railway development has 
brought with it serious evils. In order to understand the na¬ 
ture of these evils, let us notice that with railroads, as with 
municipal utilities, the cost per unit of product or service 
declines with an increase in the number of units furnished. 
A railroad must maintain its roadbed, depots, and terminals 
whether one or a hundred trains are run, and whether 
freight or passenger cars run empty or full. Many of the 
railroad’s operating expenses also go on regardless of the 
volume of business. Thus the cost of handling units of 
traffic declines as the volume of that traffic increases. 

These circumstances influence rate-making in two ways. 
In the first place, railroads can afford to accept extra traffic 
at a relatively low rate because carrying extra traffic adds 
relatively little to the railroad’s expenses. In the second 
place, rates in general cannot be definitely connected with 
the expense of carrying specific commodities, hence rates are 
often determined on the basis of expediency. This means 
that high rates are charged on valuable commodities because 


GOVERNMENT AND BUSINESS 


419 


those commodities can pay high rates, while low rates are 
charged on cheap goods, because those goods cannot stand 
a high charge. This is called “charging what the traffic will 
bear.” 

Evils attending railroad development. — Since many of 
the expenses of the railroad go on regardless of the amount of 
traffic carried, railroads are constantly searching for extra 
business. Competition between railroads has tended to be 
very severe. Rate-wars have been common, because of the 
small cost of handling extra units of traffic. In the struggle 
for business, railroads once habitually offered low rates on 
competitive roads or lines, and then made up for this rela¬ 
tively unprofitable practice by charging high rates on non¬ 
competitive roads. The desire for extra business, together 
with the pressure exerted by trusts and other large shippers, 
encouraged railroads to make rates which discriminated be¬ 
tween products, between localities, and even between indi¬ 
viduals. The ruinous character of competition often led to 
monopolistic combinations which proceeded to charge the 
general public exorbitant rates, but which rendered poor 
service. 

Early state legislation. — During the early stages of rail¬ 
road development, the railroads were generally regarded as 
public benefactors for the reason that they aided materially 
in the settlement of the West. But after about 1870 the rail¬ 
roads began to be accused of abusing their position. A 
greater degree of legal control over the roads was demanded. 

The first attempts at the regulation of railroad corporations 
were made by several of the states. For fifteen years various 
commonwealths tried to control the railroads through state 
railway commissions armed with extensive powers. These 
commissions eliminated some of the more glaring abuses of 
railroad combination, but for several reasons state regulation 
was relatively ineffective. The states had, of course, no 
authority over interstate business, and most railroad rev¬ 
enues were derived from this type of business. State laws 
regulating railroads were often declared unconstitutional by 


420 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


the courts. Lastly, powerful railroad corporations often suc¬ 
ceeded in bribing state legislatures to refrain from taking 
action against them. Because of these influences, state regu¬ 
lation was generally conceded to be a failure. 

Federal legislation. — The failure of state laws effectively 
to control the railroads led to the enactment by Congress 
of the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. This federal act 
created an Interstate Commerce Commission of seven mem¬ 
bers, appointed by the President, and charged with the 
enforcement of the Act. The Act also prohibited discrimi¬ 
nations, and forbade unjust and unreasonable rates. It re¬ 
quired that railroads should make rates public, and that they 
should not change rates without due notice. Pooling was 
forbidden, that is to say, railroads apparently competing 
with one another were no longer to merge or pool their 
combined business with the understanding that each was to 
get a previously determined share of the joint profits. The 
objection to pooling was that it suppressed competition and 
encouraged monopoly. 

In the years that followed, however, the Interstate Com¬ 
merce Act checked railroad abuses very little. The ma¬ 
chinery of the Act was so defective as to render difficult the 
successful prosecution of offenders. Railroad interests ex¬ 
erted an evil influence upon government officials who were 
attempting to enforce the Act. The administration of the 
law was also markedly impeded by the fact that the courts 
tended to interpret the Act of 1887 in such a way as to limit 
the powers of the Commission. 

To a considerable extent discriminations and unnecessarily 
high rates continued until after the opening of the twentieth 
century. Then in 1903 the Elkins Act revived some of the 
waning powers of the Commission. Three years later (1906) 
the Hepburn Law increased the membership of the Commis¬ 
sion, improved its machinery, and extended and reinforced 
its control over rates. In 1910 the Mann-Elkins Act 
strengthened the position of the Commission in several 
particulars. 


GOVERNMENT AND BUSINESS 


421 


In spite of this additional legislation, however, the rather 
sorry record of railroad regulation up to the time of the World 
War repeatedly raised the question of national ownership of 
railroads. 

Arguments in favor of national ownership of railroads. — 
The arguments in favor of national ownership of railroads 
are similar to those advanced in behalf of the municipal 
ownership of local utilities. 

The failure of regulation, coupled with the social impor¬ 
tance of the railroads, is said to render ownership imperative. 
Government ownership of railroads is said to have succeeded 
in several of the countries of Europe, notably in Prussia. 

It is believed by many that government ownership would 
attract a high grade of public official. It is also thought that 
with the change to public ownership the corruption of state 
legislatures by railroads would cease. Since the roads would 
be taken out of private hands and administered as a unit by 
the federal government, discriminations and other unfair 
practices would cease. 

It is also held that under public ownership service rather 
than profits would become the ideal. Since profits would no 
longer be necessary, lower rates could be offered. Govern¬ 
ment ownership would allow the elimination of duplicating 
lines in competitive areas, and would permit the extension of 
new lines into areas not immediately profitable. Thus rail¬ 
roads now operated solely for private gain would become 
instruments of social as well as industrial progress. 

Arguments against national ownership of railroads. — 
Opponents of national ownership maintain that the experi¬ 
ence of Prussia and other European countries is no guide to 
railroad management in this country. Differences in political 
organization between this and European countries, for ex¬ 
ample, render unreliable the results of public ownership in 
Prussia and other parts of Europe. 

Many opponents of government ownership contend that 
the elimination of private control would increase, rather than 
decrease, political corruption. Various political interests, 


422 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


they say, would bring pressure to bear in favor of low rates 
for their particular sections of the country. 

It is often maintained that the substitution of public for 
private ownership would discourage personal initiative be¬ 
cause public officials would take little genuine interest in the 
railroads. It is said that government administration of rail¬ 
roads would be marked by waste and inefficiency. This 
would necessitate higher rates instead of permitting rates to 
be reduced. The large initial cost of acquiring the roads is 
urged against public ownership, as is the gigantic task of 
administering so vast an industry. 

Another important aspect has become apparent within 
the last few years. The rapid development of highways with 
its attendant increase in motor transportation has raised 
the question of the decreasing value of the railroads. It is 
thus conceivable that the government would be buying an 
industry which promises to become less valuable. 

A last important objection to public ownership is that it 
would cause rates to be rigid. Rates would be fixed for rela¬ 
tively long periods and by a supervisory agency, rather than 
automatically changing with business conditions as under 
private ownership. This rigidity would force business to 
adapt itself to rates, instead of allowing rates to adapt them¬ 
selves to business needs. 

Origin of trusts. — Let us now consider the manner in 
which the government has dealt with unnatural monopolies. 
After the Civil War, rivalry in many industries was so intense 
as to lead to “cutthroat” competition and a consequent 
reduction in profits. For the purpose of securing the ad¬ 
vantages of monopoly, many previously competing businesses 
combined. In 1882 John D. Rockefeller organized the Stand¬ 
ard Oil Company, the first trust in this country. The plan 
drawn up by Mr. Rockefeller provided that the owners of 
a number of oil refineries should place their stock in the hands 
of a board of trustees. In exchange for this stock, the owners 
received trust certificates on which they were paid dividends. 
Having control of the stock, the trustees were enabled to 


GOVERNMENT AND BUSINESS 


423 


manage the combining corporations as one concern, thus 
maintaining a unified control over supply, and opening the 
way to monopoly profits. 

Present meaning of the term “trust.” — The plan initiated 
by Mr. Rockefeller was so successful that other groups of 
industries adopted it. After 1890 the original trust device 
was forbidden by statute, and the trust proper declined in 
importance. But there continued to be a large number of 
industrial combinations which, under slightly different forms, 
have secured all of the advantages of the original trust. In 
some cases previously competing corporations have actually 
amalgamated; in still other cases, combining concerns have 
secured the advantages of monopoly by forming a holding 
company. A holding company is a corporation which is 
created for the express purpose of “holding” or controlling 
stock in several other corporations. This the holding com¬ 
pany does by buying a sufficient amount of the stock of the 
combining concerns to insure unity of management and con¬ 
trol. Since the holding company and similar devices secure 
the chief advantages of the original trust, the word “trust” 
is now used to designate any closely knit combination which 
has monopolistic advantages. 

Growth of the trust movement. — The trust movement 
developed rapidly after 1882. There were important combi¬ 
nations in the oil, tin, sugar, steel, tobacco, paper, and other 
industries. By 1898 there had been formed some eighty 
trusts, with a total capitalization of about $1,000,000,000. 
At the beginning of 1904 the number of trusts exceeded three 
hundred, while their combined capital totaled more than 
$5,000,000,000. The largest single trust was the United 
States Steel Corporation, which was capitalized at almost a 
billion and a half dollars. At the beginning of 1911, in which 
year the Supreme Court of the United States ordered two 
important trusts to dissolve, the combined capital of the 
trusts was probably in excess of $6,000,000,000. Today the 
combinations are numerous and involve billions of dollars. 
The radio, power, oil, rubber, telephone, and motor corpora- 


424 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


tions are among the most prominent combinations which 
might be called trusts. 

Abuse of power by trusts. — Trusts have often abused 
their great powers. They have sometimes used their wealth 
to corrupt legislatures and to attempt to influence even the 
courts, in the effort to prevent laws and court decisions from 
restricting their monopoly. The corruption of railway cor¬ 
porations and of political parties has been partly due to the 
evil influence of the trusts. Trusts have often crushed out 
independent concerns that endeavored to compete with them. 
This has been accomplished, partly by inducing railroads 
to discriminate against independent concerns and in favor of 
the trusts, partly by cutting prices in competitive markets 
until independent concerns were crushed out, and partly by 
the use of bribes, threats, and other unfair methods. After 
competition had been suppressed, the trusts took advantage 
of their monopoly to raise prices on their products, thus 
imposing a heavy burden upon the public. 

The Sherman Anti-trust Act (1890). — During the eight¬ 
ies a number of states attempted to control the development 
of trusts. But the federal government has exclusive juris¬ 
diction over interstate business, and for this reason the action 
of the states was limited to the control of the relatively un¬ 
important trust business lying entirely within their respective 
borders. The fact that an increasing proportion of trust busi¬ 
ness was interstate in character stimulated interest in federal 
anti-trust legislation, and in 1890 the Sherman Anti-trust Act 
was passed. This Act declared illegal “every contract, com¬ 
bination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in 
restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or 
with foreign nations.” 

Failure of the Sherman Act. — For more than twenty 
years after its passage, the Sherman Act did little to curb the 
growth of the trusts; indeed, the most marked tendency 
toward trust formation occurred after 1890. Numerous suits 
were brought under the act, but the lukewarm attitude of the 
courts rendered difficult the administration of the law. After 


GOVERNMENT AND BUSINESS 


425 


1911 the courts held that the restraint of trade was illegal if 
“unreasonable/’ but few juries could be found that could 
agree upon the difference between a “reasonable” and an 
“unreasonable” restraint of trade. Lastly, combinations 
which had been organized under the original trust plan were 
not disheartened by court decrees ordering them to dissolve, 
but reorganized under some device which was practically as 
effective as the trust plan, but which did not technically 
violate the Sherman Act. 

Legislation of 1914. — Finally in 1911 the government 
succeeded in dissolving the Standard Oil Company and the 
American Tobacco Company, two of the largest trusts in 
the country. This success encouraged the Department of 
Justice to institute other suits, and stimulated such general 
interest in the trust problem that in 1914 Congress passed 
two new anti-trust acts. These were the Clayton Act and 
the Federal Trade Commission Act. The general effect of 
these laws was to strengthen anti-trust legislation by correct¬ 
ing some of the fundamental defects of the Sherman Act, and 
by still further extending the power of the federal govern¬ 
ment over monopolistic combinations. 

The Clayton Act forbids “unjustifiable discriminations 
in the prices charged to different persons,” and also prohibits 
the lease or sale of goods made with the understanding that 
the lessee or purchaser shall not patronize competing con¬ 
cerns. The Act specifies a number of other practices which 
constitute unreasonable restraints of trade. Somewhat com¬ 
plicated limitations are imposed upon interlocking directo¬ 
rates, by which is meant the practice of individuals being 
on the board of directors of different corporations. The Act 
likewise forbids the acquisition by one corporation of stock 
in another corporation when the effect may be “to substan¬ 
tially lessen competition” between such corporations, or “to 
tend to create a monopoly.” 

Further legislation. — The second of the two acts of 1914 
created a Federal Trade commission of five members, ap¬ 
pointed by the President. The commission has the power 


426 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


to require annual or special reports from interstate corpora¬ 
tions in such form and relating to such matters as it may 
prescribe. At the request of the Attorney-General, the com¬ 
mission must investigate and report upon any corporation 
alleged to be violating the anti-trust laws. The most im¬ 
portant power of the commission is undoubtedly that of 
issuing orders restraining the use of “unfair methods of 
competition in commerce.” This clause aims at prevention 
rather than at punishment, and if its power is wisely used it 
will check monopoly in the early stages. Most authorities 
claim that in this regard the work of the commission has 
already proved definitely helpful. Additional trust laws have 
been passed: the Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921; the 
Farm Cooperative Act of 1922; the Grain-Futures Act of 
1922; and the Radio Act of 1927. 

The outlook. — Since 1911, and especially since the passage 
of the two Acts of 1914, the trust situation has materially 
improved. The vague and wholly inadequate powers of the 
old Sherman Act have been clarified and supplemented by 
the more specific provisions of the Clayton and Federal Trade 
Commission Acts. Fairly adequate machinery for the in¬ 
vestigation and prosecution of trusts is now provided. The 
present laws cover not only combinations making use of the 
old trust device, but also combinations employing other 
methods of exercising monopoly control. The Federal Trade 
Commission Act provides for publicity, so that public opin¬ 
ion may have a chance to enforce the principle of fair play 
and open competition in business. In May, 1932, the Su¬ 
preme Court refused to permit the packers to engage in the 
wholesaling of food products other than meats. Alert regu¬ 
lation seems to be the solution of the trust problem. 

Activities and References 
Significant Words and Phrases 

Monopoly, trust, public utility, franchise, public utilities commissions, 
municipal ownership, principle of decreasing cost, pooling, holding company, 
restraint of trade, interlocking directorates. 


GOVERNMENT AND BUSINESS 


427 


Questions 

1. Why is public interest in business necessary? 

2. What is the function of government in regard to business? 

3. What is the nature of a monopoly? 

4. What is the danger of monopoly? 

5. What are the two types of monopoly? 

6. What is a public utility? 

7. Why should a city allow only one gas company to operate within its 

limits? 

8. What is a franchise? 

9. What abuses grew out of the careless granting of franchises? 

10. What steps have been taken to remedy these conditions? 

11. Give five arguments in favor of municipal ownership. 

12. Give five arguments against municipal ownership. 

13. To what extent has municipal ownership been accepted in American 

cities ? 

14. Name four fundamental conditions of municipal ownership. 

15. Outline briefly the development of railroads in this country. 

16. How does the principle of decreasing cost apply to railroads? 

17. In what two ways are rates determined? 

18. What evils attended railroad development? 

19. Why did state regulation fail to eliminate these evils? 

20. What were the provisions of the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887? 

21. How effective was this act? 

22. How did additional legislation strengthen this act? 

23. Give five arguments in favor of national ownership of railroads. 

24. Give five arguments against national ownership of railroads. 

25. Describe the origin of the trust. 

26. Explain clearly the meaning of the word “trust” as it is now used 

with respect to business combinations. 

27. During what period of our history was trust development greatest? 

28. In what sense have trusts abused their power? 

29. What was the purpose of the Sherman Act of 1890? 

30. How did this act work out in practice? 

31. What important development is associated with the period 1911-1914? 

32. What are the main provisions of the Clayton Act? 

33. What is the purpose of the Federal Trade Commission Act? 

34. What can be said as to the future of the trust problem? 

35. Mention some large companies which are now called trusts. 

36. Why did the Supreme Court forbid the packers to deal in groceries? 

37. Are chain stores regarded as trusts? 

38. Are trusts feared as much as they were twenty years ago? Account 

for the change. 


428 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


Problems 

1. Problem: To realize the necessity of the government regulation of 
business. Method: Show why the rates of an electric, gas, or street¬ 
car company should be regulated by a utilities commission. 

2. Problem: To visualize municipal ownership. Method: Debate the 
following proposition: Resolved that ( the name of your town ) should 
own its gas plant (street railways, or electric plant). The purpose of 
the debate will be to bring out the detailed consequences of municipal 
ownership in your own community. 

3. Problem: To learn why railroad mileage has decreased. Method: 
Find an example of a trolley or railroad that has ceased operation. 
Inquire as to the reason. Paved roads, automobiles, and trucks may 
give you a general principle on which to proceed. 

4. Problem: To appreciate the importance of railroads in the develop¬ 
ment of a region. Method: Read the story of James J. Hill and the 
construction of the Great Northern Railway. What regions were 
opened? 

5. Problem: To trace the history of a great trust. Method: Read in 
the encyclopedias the stories of John D. Rockefeller and Andrew 
Carnegie. 

References 

Fay, Elements of Economics 
Janzen and Stephenson, Everyday Economics 
Keister, Our Financial System 
Thompson, Elementary Economics 
Williamson, Readings in American Democracy 


CHAPTER XXXV 


TAXATION 

The increasing cost of government. — In the United 
States, as in other modern civilized countries, the cost of 
government is steadily increasing. The settlement of the 
Great West, the depletion of natural resources, and the transi¬ 
tion from a primitive to an industrial economy have obliged 
our government to pay out larger and larger sums for the 
services of public officials, and for the materials and com¬ 
modities used for public purposes. The growth of our cities 
and the increasing complexity of our industrial life have 
greatly increased the number of activities which it is to our 
advantage to carry on, not individually, but collectively 
or through the agency of government. Increased school 
equipment, public health officers, smoke inspectors, building 
inspectors, radio equipment for police departments, stop-and- 
go signals — these are just a few examples of new services 
which cities render. Naturally increased service results in 
increased taxes. 

Due to payments on the national debt the total expenditure 
by the federal government 1 has not increased materially since 
the war, but both state and local expenditures have increased 
enormously. The present total annual cost of government is 
estimated at $105.20 per person, as contrasted with a per 
capita cost of $13.17 in 1890. The increased burden has been 
felt so keenly that taxpayers in various states have organized 
protests and have forced reductions in various budgets. In 
the state of Oregon the governor proposes to relieve property 
of all direct taxes and shift the burden to incomes and cor¬ 
porations. 

1 The expenses incident to running the government, however, have 
increased slightly. 


429 


430 PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 

Sources of public revenue. — Writers on taxation gen¬ 
erally enumerate as sources of public revenue, public in¬ 
dustries, the public domain, gifts, confiscations, fees, special 
assessments, fines, and taxes. At various times and in dif¬ 
ferent countries of the world, all of these have been im¬ 
portant, but in the United States at the present time taxes 
are by far the most important source of public revenue. 

A tax may be defined as a compulsory contribution exacted 
from the individual by the government, for the purpose of 
defraying expenses incurred for the common welfare. The 
government does not return to the individual taxpayer a 
definite commodity or service. In return for taxes the gov¬ 
ernment indeed renders many valuable services, such as 
public education, the safeguarding of health, and protection 
from domestic violence and foreign war. But on account 
of the collective character of these services, no attempt is 
made to apportion the payment exacted of the individual 
to the benefit which he as an individual receives. 

Until recently our national government secured most of 
its revenue from taxes on imports, and from excises or in¬ 
ternal taxes on such commodities as tobacco and liquor. 
Since national prohibition went into effect (1919), the federal 
revenues are derived mainly from taxes on imports, from 
income and inheritance taxes, and from taxes on corporations. 

The general property tax is supposed to be levied upon all 
the property in the possession of taxpayers, though as we 
shall see a little later, this tax works out very badly. The 
old “poll” or head tax was formerly important, but at 
present less than two-thirds of one per cent of state and local 
revenues are derived from this source. In most states it is 
being abandoned because of its small yield, and because of 
the difficulty and expense in collecting it. 

Lack of a tax system. — The fundamental defect of Ameri¬ 
can taxation is the lack of a definite and coordinated system. 
The tax laws of most states have been radically changed 
during the last few decades, and are still in a process of 
development. In many states old taxes are being modified 


TAXATION 


431 


or abandoned, and new taxes adopted. But too often this is 
being done without regard for the taxation reform of other 
states or of the federal government. As a result, the tax 
burden weighs unequally upon different classes, while be¬ 
tween state and state, or between state and federal govern¬ 
ment, there is an overlapping of tax power. The effect of 
this overlapping is to create undue confusion, and to de¬ 
moralize both tax officials and taxpayers. 

Legal restrictions upon taxing power. — A serious defect 
of American taxation is the lack of correspondence between 
taxing power and financial needs. Let us inquire into this. 

The federal government has important functions to per¬ 
form, but has practically unlimited taxing power. So far as 
the national government is concerned, the problem of finding 
sources of revenue is relatively simple. 

The functions assumed by the state governments are as 
yet relatively few and inexpensive, while the power of the 
state to tax is but slightly abridged by the federal Constitu¬ 
tion. States have relatively little difficulty in making both 
ends meet. 

Local governments, and especially municipal governments, 
have a large number of functions which are increasingly im¬ 
portant. Of the total government expenditure in this coun¬ 
try, about 33 per cent is made by the federal government, 
15 per cent by the state governments, and 52 per cent by the 
local governments. But whereas federal and state govern¬ 
ments have relatively adequate taxing powers, the taxing 
powers of local governments are narrowly restricted by the 
state constitution and statutes. Such local functions as 
health, public school education, and recreation are constantly 
demanding greater expenditures, yet local governments as 
yet have few opportunities for securing necessary funds. 

Defects in tax assessment. — The defects of tax assess¬ 
ment are clearly illustrated in the workings of the general 
property tax, called by some authorities the worst tax in the 
civilized world. The basis of levy is the work of local asses¬ 
sors, who are generally elective. The assessors estimate the 


432 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


value of millions of dollars’ worth of property, and their 
estimates are the basis of the tax rates for not only township 
and county, but generally for the state as well. Incapable 
and dishonest assessors often work injustice by underesti¬ 
mating the value of some forms of property, while other 
forms are overestimated. Sometimes political pressure is 
brought to bear upon the assessor to cause him to under¬ 
value the property of the township or county as a whole, 
so that the local unit will bear a relatively small share of the 
taxes of the state. 

The estimates of the local assessors are commonly subject 
to correction by a county, and sometimes by a state, board 
of equalization. The duty of such a board is to make 
assessments uniform and just, but notwithstanding the efforts 
of these bodies, unequal and unfair assessments have per¬ 
sisted. 

Difficulty of taxing intangible property. — Where taxation 
is on the basis of assessment, it often happens that the tax 
burden rests unequally upon different forms of property. 
Property in tangible form, such as land, cattle, and houses, 
is easily discoverable, and hence cannot easily evade the 
payment of taxes. But intangible property, such as bonds, 
stocks, or mortgages, can easily be hidden, so that owners 
of this type of property often evade their share of the tax 
burden. 

This evasion is often practiced in the case of the general 
property tax, which is intended to reach both tangible and 
intangible property. The general property tax worked well 
a century ago when the greater share of wealth existed in 
tangible form, because local assessors could easily locate 
such things as land and live stock. But the rapid develop¬ 
ment of corporations, bringing with it a rapid increase in 
the proportion of intangible forms of property, has rendered 
the general property tax grossly unjust. The assessors of 
general property tax cannot easily discover intangible prop¬ 
erty, unless taxpayers cooperate with them. The all too 
frequent lack of such cooperation causes a disproportionate 


TAXATION 


433 


share of the tax burden to fall upon tangible property. The 
general property tax is haphazard, ineffective, and demoraliz¬ 
ing to both tax officials and taxpayers. 

Double taxation. — By double taxation is meant the tax¬ 
ation of an individual or different individuals twice for the 
same thing. Double taxation is of two kinds. 

The first type of double taxation is illustrated by the 
taxation of both tangible property and the paper claim upon 
that property. For example, a state may tax a landowner 
on his land, and also tax another resident of the state on the 
mortgage which he holds against that land. Or it may hap¬ 
pen that a state will tax the land, buildings and other tangible 
equipment of a corporation, and at the same time tax those 
of its residents who hold stock in that corporation, i.e., in¬ 
dividuals who hold paper evidence of ownership in the tangi¬ 
ble equipment of the corporation. More generally, however, 
this type of double taxation arises when the holder of the 
paper claim resides in one state, while the tangible property 
lies in another state. In such a case, it is common for one 
state to tax the paper claim, and for the other state to tax 
the property itself. This type of double taxation is mani¬ 
festly unfair, and often imposes a ruinous burden upon prop- 
erty. 

The second type of double taxation is illustrated by the 
overlapping of simifar taxes between state and state, or be¬ 
tween federal and state governments. Because it is the 
practice of most states to seek revenue without regard to 
the taxing activities of other states, or of the federal govern¬ 
ment, it may happen that corporations, incomes, or in¬ 
heritances are taxed by more than one agency of government. 

If a scientific and coordinated tax system were deliberately 
to provide for this, the supposition would be that such taxa¬ 
tion were reasonable and just, because intended to bear 
with equal weight upon all forms of property in the taxable 
class. But because such taxation is haphazard, it bears 
with unequal weight upon corporations and individuals, and 
is therefore unjust. 


434 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


Moreover, it encourages the evasion of tax burdens. In¬ 
dividuals and corporations sometimes migrate from localities 
or states in which they are subject to double taxation, to 
localities or states in which the danger of such taxation is less. 
This, in turn, has the evil effect of tempting states and munici¬ 
palities to neglect taxes on corporations, incomes, and in¬ 
heritances for the sake of attracting wealthy individuals and 
large industrial organizations from neighboring areas. 

Ideals in taxation. — Summarizing the views of the more 
generally accepted writers on taxation, we may say that the 
following are the basic ideals in taxation: 

Taxes should take as little as possible from the people and 
still meet the needs of government. Taxes should be uni¬ 
form, that is, all taxable articles of the same class should be 
levied upon at the same rate. It is also important that the 
time, manner, and amount of the tax should not be arbitrary, 
but that the individual’s convenience as regards the terms 
of payment should be considered. From the standpoint of 
the government, taxes should be easy to administer and 
economical to collect. 

A good tax system will be elastic, so that taxes may easily 
be increased or decreased, according as the revenue needs of 
the government change. The ability to pay ought to have 
some influence upon the extent to which an individual is 
taxed. Taxes should adapt themselvds somewhat to the 
local sentiment as to what is expedient or socially desirable. 

Essentials of a tax system. — The construction of an ideal 
tax system in this country would involve three steps. 

In the first place, each branch of government should be 
enabled to secure revenues actually needed for justifiable 
purposes. In this regard the greatest need is to increase the 
taxing powers of our municipalities. This is imperative if 
the cities of the future are to care for their citizens properly. 

A second fundamental step relates to the separation of 
taxing power. Each branch of government should endeavor 
to confine its use of the taxing power to definite types of 
taxable wealth. The federal government, for example, 


TAXATION 


435 


might secure most of its revenue from import duties, excises, 
and income tax, and stamp taxes of various kinds. Many 
taxation experts believe that the states ought to confine 
themselves mainly to license, corporation, inheritance, and, 
possibly, income taxes. Local governments might well secure 
most of their revenue from taxes on franchises, licenses, and 
real estate. Such a separation of taxing power might aid 
in the adjustment of fiscal needs to taxing power, as well as 
help to remedy the evil of double taxation. However, 
a complete separation of taxing powers is not necessarily 
desirable, and certainly it is not practicable, for there is a 
growing tendency toward duplication in income, inheritance, 
and other taxes. At the present time, for example, not only 
the federal government, but many of the states levy income 
and inheritance taxes. 

A third fundamental step would be the coordination of 
local, state, and federal taxing authorities. The central aim 
of such coordination should be so to distribute tax burdens 
that no form of taxable wealth would escape its just burden, 
and so that no form of wealth would be subjected to unduly 
heavy taxation. There is a growing feeling that to prevent 
double taxation and similar evils, all local taxing bodies ought 
to be coordinated under the state authorities, while for simi¬ 
lar reasons the federal government ought to have some 
measure of direction or control over that share of state taxa¬ 
tion which is interstate in its effects. 

Reform or abolition of the general property tax. — The 
reform of state and local taxation logically begins with the 
general property tax. 

In many states attempts are being made to reform this tax. 
In some cases “tax ferrets” are employed to discover tax 
evaders, a policy which may easily lead to corruption and 
favoritism. In other states the conviction is growing that 
local elective assessors ought to be supplanted by a perma¬ 
nent corps of state assessors, appointed under the merit 
system. This would reduce the danger of unequal and un¬ 
fair assessments. 


436 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


In other states there is a tendency to abandon the gen¬ 
eral property tax altogether. In New York, Massachusetts, 
Pennsylvania, and other states, there is a marked tendency 
to turn over the general property tax to local governing 
bodies. In such cases it is intended that the state shall 
depend for most of its revenue upon income, corporation, 
inheritance, and license taxes. 

The future will doubtless see a widespread tendency 
toward the reform or abolition of the general property tax. 
In some states, however, such changes in the taxation system 
require constitutional amendment, and constitutional amend¬ 
ment is often a slow and tedious process. 

Reform in land taxation. — Coupled with plans for the 
reform or abolition of the general property tax are proposals 
for the reform of land taxation. A primary aim of these 
proposals, some of which suggest elements of the single tax 
doctrine, is to secure a more correct assessment of land values. 
In many cases a state does not now tax the holder of a mort¬ 
gage when the mortgaged land is also within the state and 
thus directly subject to taxation. This is a desirable de¬ 
velopment, but we ought to go still further, so that the holder 
of a mortgage would not be taxed whether or not he lived in 
the same state as the owner of the land. A mortgage is 
obviously not social wealth, but a paper claim on wealth, 
and this wealth ought not to be taxed twice. 

Some authorities believe that the tax rate on land ought 
substantially to be increased, when it appears that such land 
is being held for speculative purposes. To encourage im¬ 
provements, it is also proposed that certain permanent im¬ 
provements on land be temporarily exempted from taxation. 
Lastly, it would appear socially desirable to levy special 
taxes on urban sites, so as to secure for the community some 
share of the future unearned increment. 

The income tax. — All taxes ultimately come out of in¬ 
come, but when we speak of an income tax we refer to a direct 
levy upon income as it arises, chiefly in the form of wages, 
salaries, and profits. A federal income tax was levied during 


TAXATION 


437 


the Civil War, but in the nineties the Supreme Court held 
that such a tax violated the constitutional provision that 
Congress shall not lay direct taxes except in proportion to 
the population of the states. In 1913 the Sixteenth Amend¬ 
ment to the Constitution permitted Congress to lay and col¬ 
lect taxes on incomes without apportionment among the 
several states, and without regard to any census or enumera¬ 
tion. 

Since 1913 Congress has passed several income tax laws, 
and a number of the states have also adopted this form of 
taxation. The essential features of these laws are as follows. 
Incomes below a certain amount are exempt from taxation. 
The limit of untaxable income is raised for married persons 
living together. In calculating their net income, individuals 
may make allowance for debts, business expenses, and certain 
other items. Upon all taxable income above a certain mini¬ 
mum there is then levied a flat rate, constituting a “normal” 
tax. When incomes exceed a certain amount, there is an ad¬ 
ditional tax. Thus the income tax is said to be “progres¬ 
sive,” that is, the larger the income the higher the tax rate. 

Many benefits are claimed for the income tax. It falls 
upon those best able to pay, and it is not easily evaded or 
shifted by the person upon whom it is levied. It is elastic 
and can readily be increased or reduced according as revenue 
needs change. Its progressive character is a feature which 
is considered socially desirable. 

The chief defects of the income tax are two. In the first 
place, the effectiveness of the tax depends upon the willing¬ 
ness of the individual to declare his full income. This is 
not always done, especially where the income tax is regarded 
as an undue interference in the private affairs of the indi¬ 
vidual. Second, wealthy individuals often migrate to states 
where there is either no income tax or only a relatively light 
one. This last defect of course applies only to the state in¬ 
come tax. 

The inheritance tax. — Taxes upon inheritances have come 
into prominence since the opening of the twentieth century. 


438 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


Since 1916 the federal government has levied an inheritance 
tax. At the present time most of the states also levy this 
form of tax upon property passing by will or under the in¬ 
heritance laws of the state. The essential features of the 
tax are everywhere the same. Small legacies are generally 
exempt. Legacies to direct heirs are either exempt, or are 
taxed at a lower rate than are legacies to collateral heirs. 
The rates are progressive, that is to say, they increase with 
the size of the legacy. 

Many benefits are claimed for the inheritance tax. It 
brings in a large revenue, and falls upon those who are best 
able to pay. The tax cannot be shifted and it cannot easily 
be evaded. It is easily assessed and collected, because all 
wills must pass through the probate court. It is held that the 
state has a social claim upon the property of an individual 
who has amassed wealth under the protection of its laws, and 
that this property ought not to be transferred intact to those 
who did not aid in its accumulation. 

If carried too far the inheritance tax would undoubtedly 
discourage the accumulation of wealth, but tax authorities 
are already guarding against this danger. On the whole, 
the inheritance tax is an important addition to our tax 
system. Its scope is being rapidly extended: rates are being 
raised, the principle of progression is being more frequently 
applied, and exemptions allowed direct heirs are being re¬ 
duced. The tax is increasingly used in the effort to redistrib¬ 
ute unearned wealth, though the extent to which this is true 
depends very largely upon local sentiment. 

Corporation taxes. — The rapid growth of American in¬ 
dustry has been accompanied by an enormous increase in the 
number and importance of industrial corporations. The 
proper taxation of these bodies is now challenging the atten¬ 
tion of both state and federal governments. 

The difficulties of taxing corporations are two: First, how 
to prevent that form of double taxation which results from 
the fact that several states may levy taxes of varying weight 
upon interstate corporations. Second, how to prevent that 


TAXATION 


439 


form of double taxation which imposes a burden both 
upon the tangible property of the corporation and upon the 
stocks and bonds representing ownership in that tangible 
property. 

A number of taxation experts suggest meeting the last- 
named difficulty by exempting from taxation stocks, bonds, 
and other securities, and by imposing, instead, a tax directly 
upon the capitalization of the corporation itself. In the case 
of corporations which are local and of moderate size, this 
might be effected by the reform of tax laws within a single 
state. Where, on the other hand, corporations are distinctly 
interstate in character, such reform would require either a 
careful coordination of the tax laws of the several states, 
or a corporation tax which should be purely federal in 
character. 

The first difficulty mentioned above would likewise have to 
be met, either by the coordination of state tax systems, or 
by allowing taxes on interstate corporations to be levied 
solely by the federal government. 

It is claimed by some economists that the virtual impossi¬ 
bility of effectively coordinating the tax laws of the various 
states renders it imperative that all interstate corporations 
be taxed solely by the federal government. In such a case 
the federal government would be taxing interstate corpora¬ 
tions partly for its own benefit, and partly as the agent of the 
various states. It is said also that such a federal tax should 
be levied on corporations at the source, i.e., upon capitaliza¬ 
tion rather than upon stocks and bonds. Being applied at 
the source, it would reach all forms of corporation wealth. 
It would be easy and economical to administer. So far as 
corporations are concerned, a purely federal tax on inter¬ 
state corporations might prevent both forms of double taxa¬ 
tion. 

Even though the states consented to a purely federal tax 
on interstate corporations, it might prove difficult for state 
and federal governments to agree upon a fair division of 
the joint revenues derived from such a tax. 


440 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


Activities and References 
Significant Words and Phrases 

Per capita, special assessment, excise, general property tax, poll tax, in¬ 
tangible property, double taxation, income tax, progressive tax, inheritance tax. 


Questions 

1. Why has the cost of government become greater? 

2. Cite five specific expenditures of city governments. 

3. What is the per capita cost of government? 

4. What is a tax? 

5. What are three services rendered by government? 

6. How is most state revenue raised? national revenue? 

7. What per cent of the total taxes is raised by national, state, and local 

governments? 

8. Which type of government has the fewest opportunities for raising 

money? 

9. Why is the general property tax unsatisfactory? 

10. Cite five examples of intangible property. 

11. Give an example of double taxation. 

12. What are two ideals in taxation? 

13. Why should taxes be uniform? 

14. Why should two governments not tax the same commodity? 

15. Why should the general property tax be maintained? Abolished? 

16. What amendment authorized the national income tax? 

17. State three advantages of the income tax. 

18. How can individuals dodge the state income tax? 

19. What are the arguments for an inheritance tax? 

20. What difficulties are involved in levying corporation taxes? 

21. Outline a scheme of taxation by the nation, state, and local govern¬ 

ment which would eliminate double taxation. 

Problems 

1. Problem: To appreciate the increasing costs of government. Method: 
List ten services which your town or city government performs that 
it did not perform twenty years ago. Has property increased in value 
and amount in proportion to the increased taxes? (For your facts, 
see this chapter, talk to older people, and observe in the streets about 
you.) 

2. Problem: To survey the various kinds of taxes. Method: Review your 
text and complete the following table. 


TAXATION 


441 


Kind of tax 

Le vied by 

A dvantages 

Disadvantages 







3. Problem: To appreciate the evils of double taxation. Method: Mr. 
Blank buys a house for $10,000, giving a mortgage to Mr. White for 
$5,000. Mr. Blank proceeds to pay taxes on the full value of the house 
and Mr. White pays taxes on his $5,000 mortgage. Explain how this 
is an instance of double taxation. 

4. Problem: To visualize a progressive income tax. Method: Suppose 
that a certain state levies an income tax of 1 % on incomes of $5,000 
and adds an additional 1% for each additional thousand. Figure 
Mr. Blank’s taxes if his income is $20,000 a year. 

References 

Ely, Outlines of Economics 

Faubel, Principles of Economics 

Fay, Elements of Economics 

Janzen and Stephenson, Everyday Economics 

Magruder, American Government 

Spindt and Ryan, The Foundation of American Government 
Williamson, Introduction to Economics 
-, Readings in American Democracy 













CHAPTER XXXVI 


THE TARIFF 

The principle of exchange. — When individuals divide 
their labor so that each becomes a highly specialized work¬ 
man, there is a resultant increase in the community’s pro¬ 
ductivity. Similarly, when one section of the country is 
adapted primarily to manufacturing, while another section 
is peculiarly suited to farming, there is a gain in national 
productivity if each of these areas specializes in those 
activities which it can carry on most effectively, and is con¬ 
tent to resort to trade in order to secure the benefit of in¬ 
dustries specialized in elsewhere. So far as the economic 
principle is concerned, there is likewise a gain when dif¬ 
ferent countries specialize in those forms of production at 
which their citizens are most effective, and are content to 
secure through international trade the products of special¬ 
ization in other countries. 

Nature of the tariff. — But though all civilized nations 
allow and even encourage the division of labor among their 
individual citizens and among the various areas within their 
own boundaries, many countries restrict the degree to which 
their citizens may exchange their surplus products for the 
surplus products of foreign producers. In the United States, 
for example, Congress has the power to levy a duty or tariff 
on foreign-made goods which are brought into this country 
for sale. 

This tariff may be levied primarily to increase national 
revenue, in which case the rate of duty is generally too low to 
keep foreign goods out of our markets. When the tariff is 
purely a revenue measure, “free trade” is said to exist. On 

442 


THE TARIFF 


443 


the other hand, a tariff may be so high that domestic goods 
will be protected in our markets against competition from 
foreign-made goods of a similar grade. In this case a pro¬ 
tective tariff is said to exist, though such a measure also 
brings in revenue. Most tariff measures, indeed, contain 
both “revenue” and “protective” elements, and it is only 
when a tariff act is primarily a protective measure that we 
speak of it as a protective tariff. 

Tariffs are of two kinds, (1) specific and (2) ad valorem . 
A specific tariff is a tax of so much per unit, as ten cents 
a dozen, five cents a yard, or three cents a pound. An ad 
valorem tariff is a tax on an article in proportion to its value, 
as ten per cent of the value, or fifty per cent of the value. 
Thus an ad valorem tax of ten per cent on shoes would yield 
a tax of sixty cents on a $6.00 pair and eighty cents on an 
$8.00 pair; whereas a specific tax of, say, fifty cents a pair, 
would yield the same on both pairs, regardless of their 
value. 

The meaning of “protection.” — Let us be sure that we 
understand exactly what is meant by “protection.” Sup¬ 
pose that in the absence of a protective tariff an English- 
made shoe can be produced and brought to this country at a 
total cost of $3.00. Let us assume that this shoe competes 
in the American market with an American-made shoe which 
is of similar grade, but which, for various reasons, it costs 
$3.50 to produce. Suppose, further, that both English and 
American producer must make a profit of $0.50 per pair of 
shoes, or go out of business. In the resulting rivalry, the 
English shoe can sell for $3.50 and make a profit. Competi¬ 
tion would force the American producer to sell his shoe for 
$3.50 also, but since this would give him no profit, he would 
be forced out of business. In such a case the American 
manufacturer might secure the passage of a protective tariff 
on this type of shoe, so that the English shoe would be 
charged $0.75 to enter this country for sale here. This would 
bring the cost of the English shoe up to $3.75, and to make a 
profit the shoe would have to sell for $4.25. But since the 


444 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


American shoe can be sold for $4.00, the English shoe is forced 
out of the market. 1 

The tariff question arises primarily in connection with the 
matter of protection, and may be stated as follows: Ought 
Congress to interfere with international trade by levying pro¬ 
tective duties on imports; and, if so, just how and to what 
extent should such duties be levied? 

Tariff history of the United States. — The first tariff 
measure in our national history was the Act of 1789. This 
was a revenue measure, though it gave some degree of pro¬ 
tection to American industries. Down to the close of the 
War of 1812 our tariff was mainly for revenue purposes. 
After the close of that war a heavy duty on foreign iron and 
textile products was imposed for the purpose of protecting 
domestic producers against the cheaply-selling English goods 
which were flooding our markets. After 1816 it became our 
policy to combine in the same tariff act high protective duties 
with revenue duties. In 1824 the general level of duties was 
raised. In 1828 Congress endeavored to lay a tariff which 
would suit all sections of the country, but the attempt 
failed. 

Between 1833 and 1842 the tariff was gradually lowered. 
Between 1842 and 1861 our tariff policy was unsettled, but in 
the latter year the domestic disturbances brought on by the 
Civil War resulted in the passage of a tariff which turned out 
to be highly protective. In the period immediately following 
the Civil War the tariff continued to be very high, due chiefly 
to pressure from industrial interests which had secured pro¬ 
tection from the war rates. In spite of attempted reform in 
1870, 1873, and 1883, the tariff continued to be highly pro¬ 
tective. 

In 1894 the Democrats reduced the tariff somewhat, and 
in 1909 the Republicans attempted to satisfy a popular de¬ 
mand for lower rates by the passage of the Payne-Aldrich 

1 If, in this example, the duty were, say, $0.25, the foreign shoe could 
continue to enter our markets and compete with the American shoe. 
In this case the tariff would be a revenue, and not a protective, measure. 


THE TARIFF 


445 


Act. This measure reduced some rates, but not enough to 
satisfy the popular mind. In 1912 the Democrats returned 
to power, and the following year passed the Underwood- 
Simmons Act, lowering the rates on many classes of com¬ 
modities, and placing a number of important articles on the 
free list. In 1916 Congress created the Tariff Commission 
with the hope that the tariff could be placed upon a scientific, 
non-partisan basis. In 1922 Congress enacted the Fordney- 
McCumber Tariff, which provided for increased duties. In 
1930 the Hawley-Smoot Act raised the duties on 890 of the 
1125 articles which were changed, and reduced it on 235. 
The rates on agricultural products were raised about 43 per 
cent, and those on manufactured articles were raised about 
33 per cent. 

Compromise character of tariff. Our tariff history is full 
of inconsistencies. The pendulum has swung first to low du¬ 
ties and then to severely high duties. No tariff has satisfied 
all the interests involved; indeed, no other issue, with the 
possible exception of slavery, has provoked as much political 
strife as the tariff. Every tariff is essentially a compromise, 
for a duty upon practically any commodity which we might 
select will benefit some of our citizens, while it will either 
prove of no use to other individuals or will actually injure 
them. Animated by self-interest, the farmer, the lumber¬ 
man, the miner, or the manufacturer, each desires a pro¬ 
tective duty on the commodity which he produces, and a low 
rate, or no duty at all, upon commodities which he consumes. 
As a result, the tariff has become a sectional problem, in the 
solving of which Congressmen have too often considered as 
paramount the economic interests of the particular locality 
which they represent. 

Nature of the tariff argument. — The tariff question gen¬ 
erally divides men into two camps, those favoring “free 
trade,” and those demanding duties that are highly protec¬ 
tive. From the standpoint of economics, the most vital 
argument against protection is that there is no fundamental 
reason why there should not be free trade between nations. 


446 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


Protection is economically wasteful because it diverts capital 
and labor from industries in which we are relatively effective 
to industries in which our productivity is relatively low. 
High protection is thus said to decrease national productivity, 
and to impose a burden upon the consumer by preventing 
him from purchasing cheaper foreign-made goods. 

In view of these facts, the free trader claims that to the 
extent that the tariff is an economic proposition, the burden 
of proof rests upon the protectionist. If this assertion is 
accepted, the tariff argument consists of the attempts of the 
protectionist to outweigh the above economic argument for 
free trade by putting forth economic arguments for protec¬ 
tion, and by developing social and political reasons fora 
protective tariff. 

An earlier tariff argument. — Formerly one of the most 
important arguments for protection was the home market 
theory. This theory was advanced in 1824 by Henry Clay. 
In the effort to win the agricultural interests to protection, 
Clay maintained that a protective tariff on manufactures 
would develop urban centers, and that this would increase 
the purchasing power of the city dwellers. This increased 
purchasing power, Clay declared, would assure the farmer of 
a steady domestic market, not only for his staples, but also 
for perishable goods which could not be shipped to foreign 
countries. 

The increased tariff rates of 1922 and 1930 resulted in a 
decreased foreign trade; consequently manufacturers have 
become more interested in the home market again. The 
enormous yields of the farms have also made the farmer con¬ 
scious of the desirability of stimulating domestic consump¬ 
tion. Thus it has come about that Clay’s arguments, 
whether sound or not, appear very timely. 

The wages argument. — At the present time one of the 
most important arguments in favor of a protective tariff is 
that it either creates or maintains a relatively high level of 
wages for workmen engaged in the protected industries. 
Those advancing this argument believe that free trade would 


THE TARIFF 


447 


lower wages and depress the standard of living for large 
groups of workmen. 

The free trader maintains that high wages do not depend 
upon protection, and this for three reasons: first, equally 
high wages are often paid in protected and unprotected in¬ 
dustries alike; second, high wages do exist in a number of 
protected industries, but many of these industries also paid 
high wages before protection had been secured; third, there 
is nothing in a protective tariff to force employers to pay 
more than the current wage. Rather than raising wages, 
Professor Taussig maintains, “protection restricts the geo¬ 
graphical division of labor, causes industry to turn to less 
advantageous channels, lessens the productivity of labor, 
and so tends to lower the general rate of wages.” 

The vested interests argument. — An important argument 
in favor of continued protection is that the introduction of 
free trade would ruin valuable manufacturing businesses 
which have been built up under protection, and which are un¬ 
prepared or unable to maintain themselves against foreign 
competition. In the case of such industries, it is maintained, 
the removal of protection might result in economic disaster. 
Factories would have to close, investments would depreciate, 
and numerous laborers would be thrown out of employment. 

There is great force in this argument. Even the most 
ardent free trader will admit that a sudden removal of tariff 
duties might be demoralizing to industries long used to pro¬ 
tection. Nevertheless, the vested interests argument is not 
so much an argument for continued protection as it is a reason 
why there should be a gradual rather than a sudden removal 
of protective duties. If protection were to be scaled down 
gradually and wisely, there is no reason why capital invested 
in industries unable to stand foreign competition could not 
be gradually transferred to industries unaffected by foreign 
competition. 

Tariff arguments accentuated by the World War. — Three 
arguments in favor of protection have taken on greater im¬ 
portance because of the World War. 


448 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


One of these is the anti-dumping argument. From the 
standpoint of the American tariff, dumping is the practice 
which some foreign producers have of temporarily selling 
their surplus goods in this country at an abnormally low 
price. 1 If dumping were permanent, we would gain because 
we would be getting goods at a much lower price than we 
could manufacture them. The evil of dumping grows out 
of the fact that it tends to force domestic producers out of 
business. Then later the foreign supply may diminish, in 
which case we suffer from a shortage of goods. If foreign 
producers do continue to supply the American market they 
may take advantage of the fact that American competitors 
have been forced out of business, and demand monopoly 
prices. The free trader admits the force of the anti-dumping 
argument, and concedes that the intense economic rivalry 
growing out of the World War rendered desirable tariff rates 
which would protect domestic producers against dumping. 

Another protectionist argument which gained in strength 
because of the War is the “infant industries” argument. 
Protectionists claim that industries really adapted to this 
country may be prevented from arising here because of their 
inability, while still in the experimental stage, to meet strong 
competition from well established foreign producers. When 
an industry is in the experimental stage the cost of production 
is relatively high, and the price will be correspondingly high. 
Well established and economically-conducted businesses can 
undersell these experimental or “infant” industries. Protec¬ 
tion for such “infant” industries is therefore sought until 
such time as they will be able to stand foreign competition. 
The free trader has generally replied that such protection 
may be desirable in some cases, but maintains that care 
should be taken to make such protection both moderate and 
temporary, otherwise protection will perpetuate industries 
for which we are really unsuited. During the World War 
American producers began to manufacture dyes and chem- 

1 Some American producers in turn “dump” in foreign markets, but 
with this practice we are not here concerned. 


THE TARIFF 


449 


icals formerly imported from Germany. The industrial im¬ 
portance of these products gave weight to the belief that the 
new industries which sprang up in this country during the 
War were entitled to protection against foreign competition. 

A third protectionist argument which was strengthened by 
the World War is the military or self-sufficiency argument. 
It has long been the claim of the protectionist that high tariff 
duties encourage the development in this country of all in¬ 
dustries producing the necessaries of life, as well as all sup¬ 
plies which are vital in war time. High protection was thus 
defended on the grounds that it permitted the United States 
to be nationally self-sufficing, thus allowing us to be relatively 
independent of other countries, especially in war time. Pre¬ 
vious to the World War many free traders scoffed at this 
argument as resting upon an unjustified fear of war, but this 
attitude was changed by the dangers to which we were sub¬ 
jected by the interruption of our foreign trade during the 
war. % At present the military or self-sufficiency argument is 
of great importance. 

The trend toward protection. — Of late years, therefore, 
there has been a distinct trend toward more protection in this 
country. The fear of dumping, the desire to protect infant 
industries established during the World War, and the in¬ 
creased importance of the military or self-sufficiency argu¬ 
ment have been factors in this trend. Another factor has 
been that the Republican party, traditionally committed to 
a policy of high protection, returned to power in 1920. A last 
important influence has been an increased need for federal 
revenue. The World War not only increased our indebted¬ 
ness, but the advent of national prohibition in 1919 cut off 
a source of federal revenue formerly very important. 

The trend toward increased protection has been opposed 
by many educators and public leaders. Practically every 
professor of economics in our leading colleges and universi¬ 
ties signed a petition, addressed to President Hoover, asking 
him to veto the Hawley-Smoot bill. In June, 1931, Canada 
raised her duties, presumably in retaliation, at least in part, 


450 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


for the increased duties which it imposed. In fact, while the 
latter measure was in Congress, numerous protests from 
foreign countries were received. After its passage, Italy, 
France, and other countries raised their tariff rates and 
established quota allotments. 1 It is perhaps not too em¬ 
phatic to say that the countries have in the last few years 
been engaged in a tariff war. 

Tariff needs. — From the standpoint of practical politics, 
one of the greatest needs of our time is for an intelligent and 
public-spirited handling of tariff problems. The tariff is 
a technical and highly complex question, upon which poli¬ 
ticians have heretofore had too much to say, and trained 
economists too little. Too often, vague claims and political 
propaganda have carried more weight than have facts. 

It is asserted by many that the tariff can never be taken out 
of politics, but this is perhaps too strong a statement. In 
this connection an interesting development was the estab¬ 
lishment of the United States Tariff Commission. # This 
commission consists of six members appointed by the Presi¬ 
dent for twelve years. Not more than three of the members 
may belong to the same political party. It is the duty of the 
commission to investigate conditions bearing upon the tariff 
and to report its findings to the President. It is hoped that 
this plan will make available scientific data on which to base 
tariff legislation. So far the commission has not materially 
reduced the influence of politics upon tariff legislation. 

It is sometimes said that our tariff policy ought to be less 
changeable. Certain it is that our tariff history is full of in¬ 
consistencies and irrational fluctations. But the question of 
a tariff policy is a thorny one. Manifestly, business should 
not be forced to accommodate itself to a purely political 
manipulation of the tariff; on the contrary, the tariff ought 
to vary with changes in business conditions at home and 
abroad. Whatever may be implied by a tariff “policy,” 

1 Some countries, in addition to the tariff, have limited the imports and 
have allotted the share which each country may send. This quota allot¬ 
ment of goods resembles our quota allotment of immigrants. 


THE TARIFF 


451 


it is also certain that the tariff should somewhat accommo¬ 
date itself to revenue needs. Beyond these somewhat general 
statements, however, it is hardly safe to say what should 
be the basic elements in a national tariff policy. 

Activities and References 
Significant Words and Phrases 

Productivity, free trade, protection, ad valorem, specific tariff, Hawley- 
Smoot, staples, vested interests, dumping, infant industries, self-sufficing, 
tariff war. 

Questions 

1. Explain how the principle of the division of labor leads to international 

trade. 

2. What is meant by free trade? 

3. For what two purposes are tariffs levied? 

4. Give an example of ad valorem and specific tariffs. 

5. Does a tariff on shoes raise the price of shoes manufactured within 

the country? Explain. 

6. List nine important tariff acts during our history. 

7. What is the Tariff Commission supposed to do? 

8. How did the Hawley-Smoot tariff alter rates? 

9. The tariff is a sectional problem. Explain. 

10. Give three arguments for free trade (low rates). 

11. Explain the home market argument for high tariffs. 

12. How are high tariff rates supposed to affect wages? 

13. What does Professor Taussig say about the wage argument? 

14. Show the three fallacies of the wage argument. 

15. State the vested interest argument for high tariffs. 

16. What is meant by “dumping”? 

17. State the infant industries argument. 

18. State the military argument for protection. 

19. What party favors high tariffs? 

20. What is the tariff tendency now? 

21. Explain the European quota tariffs. 

22. What is the outlook on the tariff question? 

Problems 

1. Problem: To visualize the tariff. Method: Suppose your town levied 
a tariff on all products brought within the city limits. Study the 
results. (1) How would the tariff affect the price of potatoes raised 


452 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


on nearby farms? (2) Who would pay the tariff in the first instance? 
Eventually? (3) Would more or fewer potatoes be sold? Produced? 
(4) How would the tariff affect the potato growers who used vacant 
lots within the city? (5) Does this local example apply to the United 
States? 

2. Problem: To learn how tariffs are actually levied. Method: The tariff 
on thread let us suppose, is one-half a cent per spool and 20% ad 
valorem. Figure the tariff on one gross of boxes of one dozen each, 
worth 30 cents a box. 

3. Problem: To appreciate the effects of the tariff on foreign trade. 
Method: Draw a map of two or three hypothetical countries. Let the 
boundaries represent “tariff walls.” Draw a ship, laden with goods, 
approaching a country. What difficulties will the owners meet when 
they reach the walls? Would an erasure of the tariff walls increase 
foreign trade? 

4. Problem: To see the tariff as a local issue. Method: Select some 
product and visualize the area which produces it (e.g., iron ore in Min¬ 
nesota or sugar in Louisiana). Explain why the Congressman repre¬ 
senting the district will favor a tariff on the product. 

References 

Carver, Elementary Economics 
Fay, Elements of Economics 
Fetter, Modern Economic Problems 
Seager, Principles of Economics 
Taussig, Tariff History of the United States 
Thompson, Elementary Economics 
Williamson, Introduction to Economics 
- -, Readings in American Democracy 



CHAPTER XXXVII 


INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 

The Problem. — Within every country difficulties are con¬ 
stantly arising over race, religion, language, color, wealth, 
and politics. These difficulties occur because the interests 
and desires of one group clash with those of another. For 
example, in the United States some religious groups protest 
against Sunday laws, foreign-born parents often object to 
their children’s being obliged to learn English in the public 
schools, and many whites try to keep Negroes from voting. 
Such clashes are often serious, but they seldom threaten the 
safety or existence of the government itself; the citizens feel 
assured that matters will be adjusted, that the problems can 
be and will be solved, that one group will not permanently 
triumph merely because it is rich or numerous. What is the 
explanation of the confidence which the citizens feel? Vari¬ 
ous answers could be given, but the best one-word answer is 
“law.” The government has established and enforced laws 
which assure a principle upon which to settle the dispute, 
and a means of applying the principle. Laws do not satisfy 
everyone; they need constantly to be altered; the decisions 
of judges and the verdicts of juries seldom satisfy both 
parties. But, imperfect as laws and their enforcement may 
be, they are vastly preferable to chaos and savagery. By 
means of laws, then, a nation settles most of the serious 
difficulties that arise within its borders. 

Between nations, also, difficulties are constantly arising 
over race, religion, language, color, wealth, and policies. 
In fact, many of them, such as trade rivalries, disputes over 
colonial possessions, and threats to national honor, are per¬ 
haps more serious than the difficulties which are confined to 
a single nation. The interests and desires of one nation 

453 


454 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


clash with those of another. Why are such international 
clashes more serious than domestic difficulties? Because 
there is no international law which can be applied and en¬ 
forced with respect to nations as domestic law can be applied 
to the citizens of a country. Consequently force replaces 
judicial decisions and wars result. 

The problem in this chapter, then, is to survey the world 
situation in order to see the nature of international affairs; 
to examine the methods of dealing with them; and to trace 
the development of international cooperation looking toward 
a peaceful solution of international difficulties. 

A. The World Situation 

There are about 2,000,000,000 people on the earth. They 
are divided into countless varieties and types. In the matter 
of color, the black population of the world numbers about 
125,000,000, the white about 700,000,000, and the yellow- 
brown about 1,175,000,000. 

Language is another significant classification. There are, 
apart from local dialects, about 130 languages in use in the 
world. More people speak some variety of Chinese than 
use any other one language, while immense numbers speak 
English, Russian, German, and other languages. 

Religion is an important basis for classifying people, for 
it is an index of their civilization. The adherents of the 
chief religions number approximately as follows: Animists, 
135,000,000; Buddhists, 150,000,000; Mohammedans, 225,- 
000,000; Hindu, 230,000,000; Confucianists and Taoists, 
350,000,000; and Christians, the most numerous of any 
group, 700,000,000. Christians, however, are divided into 
Greek or Orthodox Catholics, numbering about 150,000,000; 
Protestants, numbering about 210,000,000; and Roman 
Catholics, 340,000,000. 

Consider the geographical distribution of mankind and 
note that mere numbers do not necessarily indicate a high 
degree of civilization. Asia has a population of 950,000,000; 


INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 


455 


Europe, 550,000,000; Africa, 150,000,000; North America, 
150,000,000; South America, 80,000,000; and other millions 
are scattered over various islands. 

The 2,000,000,000 people on the earth are all members of 
some country. There are about sixty-three sovereign, inde¬ 
pendent countries in the world. They vary from populous 
and powerful organizations like the British Commonwealth 
and the United States to small areas like Costa Rica in 
Central America and Latvia on the Baltic Sea. 

These statistics and facts show that the problem of inter¬ 
national relations is very complicated. They fall short, 
however, of even indicating such factors as clashing civiliza¬ 
tions, economic competition, the far-reaching effects of in¬ 
ventions and discoveries, and most significant of all, varying 
moral standards. In the long run, nations are profoundly 
affected by their standards of right and wrong, and one nation 
naturally feels hostile toward another that has a custom or 
practice which the first nation regards as immoral. 

Color, language, religion, geography, governments, civili¬ 
zation, economics, inventions, discoveries, and morals — all 
these play a part in world affairs and tend to complicate 
the world situation. They show that world peace is not just 
a matter of making a few treaties or of expressing good will 
at peace conferences. They show that peace can be main¬ 
tained only by making an infinite number of adjustments, 
by solving a great many problems. International peace de¬ 
pends upon the good will and patience of the people of the 
various countries, for diplomats and agents can only voice 
the sentiments which they know are entertained by the peo¬ 
ple whom they represent. 

No problem is made easier by shutting one's eyes to the 
factors involved. The complicated factors in the problem 
of world peace do not render peace less desirable, but they 
do show that we must take into account a great many con¬ 
flicting factors. Having realized something, then, of the 
difficulty of the task, let us see what has been and can be 
done about it. 


456 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


B. Older Methods of International Adjustments 

From the international viewpoint a government is the 
authorized representative of the inhabitants of a country. 
Since the people of one country can deal with the people of 
another only through their governments, international affairs 
are carried on primarily by the governments of the sixty- 
three countries. Affairs between countries have, in the past, 
been adjusted in three ways: (1) by diplomacy or negotia¬ 
tion; (2) by international law; and (3) by force, which 
may or may not result in war. Let us examine the operation 
of these three methods. 

Diplomacy. — The conduct of the international affairs of 
a country is usually committed to a secretary of foreign 
affairs, who in the United States is called the Secretary of 
State. Under his direction our foreign service functions, 
though the President is the responsible party in the conduct 
of our foreign relations and the Secretary of State acts only 
on behalf of the President. The foreign service is divided 
into the consular and diplomatic corps. The consuls are 
primarily concerned with routine matters of trade, travel, 
and immigration, but their activities have a very direct 
effect upon international relations; consequently consuls 
must not be regarded as mere business agents. 

Our diplomatic corps looks after political affairs. We 
send various grades of diplomats to different countries. For 
example, we send ambassadors to the more important coun¬ 
tries, ministers-resident to most countries, envoys-extraor- 
dinary or ministers-plenipotentiary to several countries, 
and commissioners for special purposes. The President ap¬ 
points diplomatic representatives to foreign countries. These 
appointments must be confirmed by the Senate, but the 
President acting alone may remove any diplomatic officer. 
Diplomats representing the United States abroad are ex¬ 
pected to keep the Secretary of State informed of all matters 
which might affect our government. The diplomat is often 
called upon to give advice concerning treaties made, or to 


INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 


457 

be made, between this and other governments. He may 
help to draft and negotiate such treaties. Diplomats, then, 
are the eyes and ears of a government, for they are ready to 
report what they see and hear. Through them nations 
confer with each other and upon their skill and judgment 
depends the issue of war or peace. 

International law. — The diplomats, however, do not settle 
all international questions, for many are decided by custom 
and precedent. The principles which should govern nations 
in their dealings with one another were first recorded in 1625 
by the Dutch judge, Hugo Grotius, who is sometimes called 
the father of international law. The legal customs, rules, and 
principles which are widely accepted among nations con¬ 
stitute international law. The term is sometimes applied 
to a treaty, but a treaty is binding only on the nations which 
have ratified it. When, however, a considerable number of 
important countries subscribe to a principle, it is said to be 
a part of international law. 

International law differs from domestic law. In the first 
place, international law is not enacted by a regularly consti¬ 
tuted legislative body. We are familiar with laws enacted 
by a state legislature or by Congress, but there is no superior 
legislative body which has the power to enact laws for the 
government of the world. International law embraces only 
those legal principles, rules, and customs which sovereign 
nations have agreed upon as worthy of respect in their 
relations with one another. 

Second, international law differs from domestic law in the 
matter of enforcement. We have police, constables, sheriffs, 
and other agencies for the purpose of enforcing the laws 
enacted by our local, state, and national legislative bodies. 
But no similar agencies exist for the enforcement of inter¬ 
national law, or at least none that wield undisputed and 
effective authority. When a nation has ignored or defied 
international law, there has never been adequate provision 
for punishing the offender. Generally other nations have 
protested against her action, or have gone to war with her 


458 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


as a result of her violation of the law of nations. The lack 
of an adequate enforcement agency has always been the 
grave defect of international law. 

War. — When diplomacy fails and international law is dis¬ 
regarded in a dispute between two powers, war frequently 
results. We are not here concerned with such causes of war 
as blatant patriotism, secret diplomacy, autocracy, struggles 
for raw materials, colonies, and markets, militarism, the 
making of munitions, and numerous other causes. We have 
already examined the fundamental causes of war which are 
inherent in races, languages, religions, etc. We are here 
concerned with war as a method of settling international 
disputes, for that is the function of war. 

One fundamental shortcoming of war as a method of 
settling disputes is that it is enormously expensive. We 
regard ourselves as a peaceably disposed people, but we 
spend about 80 cents out of every dollar collected by the 
United States in paying for past wars and in preparing for 
future ones. As one writer points out, the interest alone on 
the national debts left from the Great War would provide a 
$1,000 scholarship for every college student in the world. 
War destroys and wrecks human lives; it maims thousands 
of the best young men; it uses up natural resources; it in¬ 
creases taxes; it upsets finances; it breeds diseases; it dis¬ 
rupts family life; it engenders hatred; it destroys moral 
standards; and most significant of all in connection with 
this chapter, it is an unsatisfactory method of settling inter¬ 
national disputes. After the war is over the diplomats must 
sit down and arrange the terms of peace, but the victors 
often disagree and fall to fighting again. Many questions, 
supposedly settled by wars, have a way of appearing on 
the scene even after a war has been fought to dispose of 
them. 

Realizing the ineffectiveness of war, nations and rulers 
have made repeated attempts to eliminate it. Let us survey 
briefly some of these attempts and see wherein they succeeded 
and wherein they failed. 


INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 


459 


C. Newer Methods of International Adjustments 

Attempts at world peace. — Four real attempts to main¬ 
tain world peace have been made. The first one may be 
designated as the “dominant nation idea.” For example, 
consider the history of Rome. A strong nation, by dominat¬ 
ing and absorbing all other countries, preserved the peace of 
the world for two centuries. Judged by results this is the 
most successful attempt thus far. 

The second attempt was made by the church. Through 
its teachings it hoped to train men’s attitudes so that they 
would incline toward peace. Had the political power of the 
church ever become supreme, world peace might have re¬ 
sulted. 

The third attempt to preserve world peace was founded 
upon the “balance of power” theory. Nations were to be 
aligned so that no one country would dare to disrupt the 
peace for fear of bringing about disastrous results. For 
example, two large and two small countries might form an 
alliance; in order to balance this coalition, two other large 
and two other small countries would form a second alliance. 
In practice each country, because of the guarantee of help, 
probably assumed a more aggressive attitude than it would 
have assumed had it stood alone. So the balance of power 
arrangement, as a scheme for world peace, proved to be a 
failure. 

All of these attempts have failed. Let us trace the back¬ 
grounds of the fourth attempt; namely, to provide effective 
machinery for conducting international relations. 

The Hague Conferences. — In 1899 the Czar of Russia 
invited the nations of the world to meet in conference at the 
capital city of Holland, known as The Hague. The purpose 
of this international conference was to discuss three im¬ 
portant types of questions: first, the reduction of arma¬ 
ments; second, the humanizing of warfare; and third, the 
settlement of international disputes by arbitration. The 
nations accepted the invitation, and before the conference 


460 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


was dismissed, there had been established an international 
body to which nations might refer disputes arising among 
them. This body was to be called The Hague Tribunal. 

A few years later, President Roosevelt began to urge a 
second Hague Conference, and largely as the result of his 
interest in the matter another conference was held at The 
Hague. This second conference met in 1907, and occupied 
a beautiful Palace of Peace, donated by Andrew Carnegie, 
an American philanthropist. The Hague Tribunal continued 
in existence, and before the outbreak of the World War in 
1914, it had succeeded in settling a number of grave disputes 
between nations. The good work of the Tribunal is not 
denied by authorities on international politics. 

Defects of the Hague Tribunal. — The Hague Tribunal 
was a step forward in the elimination of international dis¬ 
putes. However, the Tribunal could never have gone very 
far toward the abolition of war, because it had no power to 
compel disputing nations to appeal to it for the settlement of 
their grievances or complaints. If the disputing parties 
chose to appeal to the Tribunal, then a peaceful settlement 
might result. In case they refused to appeal to the Tribunal, 
the court was powerless to compel them to submit to arbitra¬ 
tion, and the disputing parties might easily drift into war. 
Since the Hague Tribunal was not an effective guarantee 
against war, and since war is the greatest evil that may arise 
from international relations, it follows that the Tribunal 
could not be called a satisfactory international organization. 
It was a step forward, but it did not go far enough. 

The League of Nations. — When war began in the summer 
of 1914, the minds of thoughtful men turned to ^such vital 
problems as neutrality, the rules of warfare, and the desira¬ 
bility of peace. In January, 1917, President Wilson de¬ 
livered an address to Congress, and upon this occasion he 
proposed a league of nations for the purpose of enforcing and 
maintaining peace. A few months later, the United States 
entered the Great War, and again the President mentioned 
the idea of a league of nations. At the end of the war, repre- 


INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 


461 


sentatives of the warring nations met in Paris and drew up 
a treaty of peace. Due largely to the efforts of President 
Wilson, this treaty contained provision for an international 
organization to be known as the League of Nations. 

Organization of the League of Nations. — The head¬ 
quarters of the League of Nations are at Geneva, Switzer¬ 
land. The League is composed of a number of nations, 
leagued together for purposes of common interest. Each 
nation that is a member of the League has the privilege of 
sending delegates to a representative body known as the 
Assembly. A nation has but one vote, although it may have 
as many as three delegates or representatives. The executive 
body of the League is a Council, in which each of nine na¬ 
tions has one representative. Each of these representatives 
has one vote, and in all important matters, the decisions 
of the Council must be unanimous. The Council is supposed 
always to be made up of the representatives of nine powers, 
including Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy, and Japan. 
There is also a permanent Secretariat who keeps the records 
of the League, publishes treaties and other documents, and 
performs a variety of clerical duties. Finally, there are com¬ 
mittees appointed annually to study certain problems and 
to report to the Assembly of the League. 

Aims of the League of Nations. — The Covenant 1 of the 
League of Nations contains a number of provisions which are 
intended to insure a common effort to avoid war. The 
members of the League agree not to begin war upon any state 
until the Council of the League, or a Court of Arbitration, 
has had time to decide whether the quarrel has any real basis, 
and whether it could not be settled peacefully. If a state 
does actually begin hostilities, in spite of its solemn pledge 
given to the League, the members of the League are to boy¬ 
cott the offending state in trade and commerce. This means 
that those members will refuse to have any commercial 
relations with the offending state. Meantime, the League 
decides upon its next step, which may consist in an order to 
1 The Covenant is printed in the Appendix. 


462 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


its members to send their armed forces against the offending 
state, in order to bring about a condition of peace. 

There is also provision for cooperation between nations in 
other matters of mutual concern. So far as possible, existing 
international agencies are to be brought under the League. 
There is provision for the study of the problem of armaments, 
and of the methods by which they may safely be reduced. 
Another aim of the League is to prevent nations from wan¬ 
tonly violating the territorial integrity of their neighbors. 
In the attempt to eliminate the evils of secret diplomacy, 
the covenant of the League declares that no treaties between 
members of the League are to be considered valid until such 
treaties have been filed with, and published by, the Secre¬ 
tariat. 

Other aims of the League include international cooperation 
for the improvement of the condition of the laboring classes, 
the suppression of the drug traffic, the regulation of inter¬ 
national trade in arms and munitions, the control of con¬ 
tagious diseases, the regulation of international law, the 
maintenance of freedom of commerce, and the encourage¬ 
ment of such organizations as the Red Cross. 

Present status of the League. — At present fifty-five coun¬ 
tries belong to the League. With the exception of Russia, 
Turkey, and the United States, all the leading countries are 
members. Germany became a member in 1926 and now 
occupies the place in the Council which was originally pro¬ 
vided for the United States. Mexico became a member in 
1931. In spite of the fact that the League has not suddenly 
accomplished its ultimate purpose, it has made steady and 
substantial progress toward the goal. 

In 1931 and 1932 Japan, a member of the League, invaded 
Manchuria and China in disregard of the League’s machinery 
for adjusting such issues. Critics pointed to this action of 
Japan as proof of the failure of the League. No such con¬ 
clusion can justly be drawn, however, for a commission from 
the League investigated, and its report will powerfully affect 
the attitude of the nations. Such disputes would arise 


INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 


463 


whether the League existed or not. If the League settles 
only some of them and tends to lessen the total number, it 
has amply justified its existence even though it fail in some 
instances. 

The popularity and effectiveness of the League are proba¬ 
bly increasing. 

The United States and the League. — In spite of the fact 
that President Wilson sponsored the League, the Senate re¬ 
fused to approve our joining. Those who opposed such a 
step argued that the League would not work, that it would 
interfere with domestic affairs such as the tariff and immigra¬ 
tion, that it would interfere with the Monroe Doctrine, and 
that it would establish a super-state that would dominate 
all members. Time has shown all of these contentions to be 
of dubious validity. 

On the contrary, the United States has found that the 
League is a convenient channel through which to deal with 
other nations. Beginning cautiously, not very long after 
our refusal to enter the League, we sent “unofficial observ¬ 
ers” to attend its conferences concerning opium, disease, 
slavery, and other problems of humanitarian interest. Grad¬ 
ually these delegates extended their activities and concerned 
themselves with trade, passports, inventions, lighthouses, 
and other economic and social matters. The delegates soon 
lost their “unofficial” aspect and were accepted as the 
accredited representatives of the United States. By Febru¬ 
ary, 1931, we had sent 212 delegates, seventy-five per cent 
of whom were government officials. In April, 1932, Presi¬ 
dent Hoover sent even our Secretary of State, Henry L. 
Stimson, to the disarmament conference at Geneva to urge 
a reduction in the size of armies. In fact, one of the disarma¬ 
ment conferences, called under the auspices of the United 
States, assembled in the buildings belonging to the League. 
Thus we are constantly availing ourselves of the machinery 
of the League because we have found that it is an efficient 
channel through which to deal with other nations. The 
extent to which Americans use the League may be brought 


464 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


home by calling attention to the fact that the statistics 
given in Section A of this chapter were compiled by the 
Statistical Bureau of the League of Nations. 

The League of Nations is only a machine. It will not and 
cannot work unless nations furnish the spark and the fuel. It 
is not so much a means of better accomplishment as a better 
means of accomplishment. It has facilitated international 
conferences by assembling a permanent body of secretaries, 
scholars, and translators. Since the League’s establishment, 
the United States has participated in more conferences than 
in all its previous history. The League has promoted 
personal acquaintance among the statesmen of Europe. Sir 
Edward Grey, the man in charge of the British Foreign 
Office when the Great War began in 1914, is said to have 
known personally not a single foreign minister with whom 
he had to deal. Herr Stresemann of Germany has observed 
that if the foreign ministers in 1914 had known each other 
as well as they do today (largely through the League) the 
war would not have occurred. While Herr Stresemann’s 
remark may not be entirely true, it does emphasize the close 
cooperation which the League has made possible. In doing 
so, it is making possible the achievement of world peace. 

The World Court. — Article 14 of the Covenant of the 
League of Nations provided for the establishment of a 
Permanent Court of International Justice which was to try 
cases submitted to it and to give advisory opinions to the 
League. Plans for the court were drawn up by a committee 
under the leadership of Elihu Root, a prominent American 
attorney who had been both Secretary of War and Secretary 
of State. In September, 1921, the court came into existence. 
It is composed of fifteen judges and four deputy judges 
chosen for nine-year terms. Recently Frank B. Kellogg, 
another American and former Secretary of State, was chosen 
as one of the judges. 

The court has both compulsory and voluntary jurisdiction. 
Resort to it is compulsory for member-nations in issues 
involving the interpretation of a treaty, a question of inter- 


INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 


465 


national law, or the breach of an international obligation, 
and the court’s decisions are in such cases binding. Thus 
the World Court is a court of “law” and not merely of “arbi¬ 
tration.” This is the significant difference between it and 
the old Hague Court of Arbitration. The voluntary jurisdic¬ 
tion of the court extends to non-members who may ask it 
for a decision, but they are not obligated to abide by it. 

The United States has not yet agreed to join the court, 
but such action has been recommended by Presidents 
Coolidge and Hoover. Sentiment in favor of joining has 
become stronger, and it is apparently only a matter of time 
until the United States will join. 

D. Clearing the Path to Peace 

The League and the World Court are means whereby 
international problems may be solved without resort to war. 
The sponsors of these two institutions believe the use of 
them will put us at last on the path to peace. But many 
people believe that this path remains filled with pitfalls 
while the instruments of war lie about us ready for use and 
that the use of them is not disreputable. Hence the impor¬ 
tance of two movements — that for disarmament and that 
to outlaw war. 

Disarmament. — Since the Great War several attempts 
have been made to reduce armaments, and some of them 
have been quite successful. The Washington Conference 
on the Limitation of Armament, which met in 1922, agreed 
to limit the numbers of capital ships, i.e ., battleships, and 
established the ratio of 5, 5, 3 for the number to be owned by 
the United States, England, and Japan. This conference 
has been hailed as “the most striking achievement in the 
history of disarmament,” because the nations voluntarily 
agreed to an actual reduction of ships. 

In 1927 the Geneva Conference met to reduce the number 
of lighter war craft. Unfortunately the delegates were 
dominated by the naval experts, who regarded the problem 


466 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


as purely technical. Practically nothing was accomplished; 
in fact, the failure stimulated the nations to build more 
cruisers. 

In order to call a halt to this race, the London Naval 
Conference met in 1930 and succeeded in bringing about an 
understanding and a slight reduction in the navies of Japan, 
England, and the United States, who also agreed not to 
replace discarded battleships before 1936. France and Italy 
were unable to agree, and they therefore did not share the 
conclusions of the conference. 

It seems likely that these disarmament conferences will 
continue to meet at frequent intervals, and that as they 
continue to meet, the nations involved will become more 
accumstomed to the idea of reducing their armaments and 
will extend the idea to all branches of their armed services. 

Outlawing war. — After extended negotiations between 
France and the United States, fifteen countries, on August 
27, 1928, signed the Pact of Paris. These famous treaties, 
popularly called the Kellogg Treaties, contained the declara¬ 
tion that the contracting parties renounced war and agreed 
that all disputes among them would be settled only by 
“pacific means/’ The treaty has been signed by other 
nations, including Russia, bringing the total to about forty- 
five. Thus all the important nations are on record as oppos¬ 
ing war as a means of settling international disputes. 

It is easy to see that these treaties cannot by themselves 
be effective, but supported by the good will of all peoples, 
they certainly tend to lessen the chances of war. Thus the 
nations have renounced war, have set up a League of Nations 
and a World Court, and have the machinery of conferences 
and the guiding principles of international law. Are we not 
justified in hoping for a better, more peaceable world? It 
is well to remember that certain obstacles have not been 
removed. A recognition of these obstacles will assist na¬ 
tions and peoples in cultivating that spirit of tolerance and 
good will which leads to world peace. 


INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 


467 


E. Present Obstacles 

Our survey (in Section A of this chapter) of fundamental 
causes shows clearly that disputes are inevitable. Our survey 
of the improved machinery for dealing with them shows 
that great progress toward peaceable settlement has been 
made. In spite of improved machinery and widespread good 
will many elements of discord and strife exist. Let us enu¬ 
merate some of them. 

International debts. — As a result of the Great War most 
of the European countries are heavily in debt to the United 
States. The total on July 1, 1931, was over eleven billion 
dollars, England, France, and Italy each owing over two 
billion. Four countries failed to pay even the interest on 
their debts. Some of them feel that their debts should be 
cancelled, that, since the money was spent in fighting against 
our enemies, we should assume their obligations. On the 
other hand American tax payers will pay the debts if the 
European countries fail to do so. Whichever view is just, 
the fact remains that the subject is one that requires careful 
consideration and mutual good will. 

Backward countries. — There are two aspects of interna¬ 
tional relations. The first is that which involves the relations 
among so-called civilized nations that can deal with one an¬ 
other on a basis of equality in civilization. The second aspect 
is that which involves the relations between civilized and 
backward countries. Obviously a backward country can¬ 
not be treated in every respect as can a civilized nation. 
For example, a backward country usually has a weak govern¬ 
ment and cannot maintain order nor protect foreigners and 
their investments. Such countries frequently pursue a reck¬ 
less financial policy and borrow large sums of money. In such 
cases stronger governments must extend some degree of con¬ 
trol over such countries. The League of Nations has recog¬ 
nized this situation and has tried to secure approval of those 
instances in which a backward country must be supervised. 
The terms “mandates” and “sanctions” have been used to 


468 PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 

describe this authorized regulation of a backward area. 
This regulation then is in accordance with the principles laid 
down by the League, and the occupation of the backward 
area is not primarily for the benefit of the supervising nation. 

There are cases, however, in which people will disagree 
as to whether a certain country is backward and so deserving 
of summary treatment. Japan may argue that China is a 
backward country, unable to maintain order and guarantee 
the rights accorded in civilized countries. In April and May 
of 1932 Congress was concerned with the question of granting 
independence to the Philippines. The problem might then 
be stated thus: Are the Filipinos a backward people or are 
they capable of maintaining a stable government? The 
problem of backward countries is complex, and no all in¬ 
clusive principle can be formulated. The League has recog¬ 
nized the problem and has given it earnest and extended 
attention. 

Tariffs. — Within the last few years practically every 
country has raised high tariff walls for the purpose of ex¬ 
cluding imports and encouraging domestic industries. Tech¬ 
nically and legally there is no doubt that each country has 
the right to pass any kind of trade restrictions which it 
desires, but this movement has lessened international trade, 
upset markets, caused unemployment in some industries, 
and engendered ill feeling. The effects of tariffs can be seen 
in the fact that the foreign trade of the United States in 
1930 was 28.4 per cent less than in 1929; and in 1931 it 
was 53.2 per cent less than in 1930. There may have been 
other factors involved in this reduced volume of foreign 
trade, but the tariff was certainly one of the factors. We 
are not here concerned with the wisdom or folly of such 
tariffs, but we are viewing them as causes of ill will and con¬ 
sequently as obstacles to peace. It is probable that a return 
to prosperity will result in the removal, at least to some 
extent, of this obstacle. 

Human nature. — Another serious obstacle to carrying 
forward the newer methods of international adjustment is 


INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 


469 


found in human nature. Human nature, as the sociologists 
assure us, arises from association. From relationships within 
our own group we acquire prejudices, habitual reactions on 
certain questions, and a disposition to accept things as they 
are. We are, therefore, disposed to be instantly sympathetic 
with our own nation and antagonistic to other nations. In 
any dispute involving our country we are likely to assume, 
without thinking, that our country is right. Citizens of 
another country feel the same way about their government. 
These natural and habitual reactions, then, are obstacles 
to peace. They can be altered only slowly and by persistent, 
patient efforts. Herein lies an opportunity open to every¬ 
one. Are we willing to make the effort to understand, even 
when such an effort requires both courage and intelligence? 


Activities and References 
Significant Words and Phrases 

Law, international law, color, language, religion, international relations, 
diplomacy, war, consul, enforcement agency, balance of power, dominant 
nation, Hague, League of Nations, Secretariat, Council, Assembly, World 
Court, mandate, sanctions, armaments, disarmament, backward countries, 
debts, tariffs. 


Questions 

1. What is the purpose behind the establishment of law? 

2. Why are disputes between nations more serious than those between 

groups within a nation? 

3. State the three aspects of the problem of this chapter. 

4. Explain and give an illustration of how color, language, religion, 

geography, and governments might be a cause of international 
disputes. 

5. What is the population of the world? 

6. What race is most numerous? 

7. How many languages are there, and which one is used by the greatest 

number of people? 

8. What religion has the greatest number of adherents? 

9. What continent is most populous? 

10. How many countries are there in the world? 


470 


PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 


11. Through what means do the people of one country deal with those 

of another? 

12. In what three ways do nations adjust their affairs? 

13. Into what two branches is our foreign service divided? Explain the 

duties of each branch. 

14. Name four ranks in the diplomatic service. 

15. Who was Hugo Grotius? 

16. Define international law. In what two respects does it differ from 

domestic law? 

17. Name five causes of war. Can you give an instance of each? 

18. Why is war as a method of settling international disputes unsatis¬ 

factory? 

19. Give some idea of the enormous cost of the Great War. 

20. Mention seven evil results of war. 

21. What are four attempts which have been made to eliminate war? 

Which was most successful? 

22. Explain the phrase, “machinery for conducting international re¬ 

lations.” 

23. Who called each of the Hague Conferences? 

24. Why did the Hague Tribunal prove ineffective? 

25. Trace the development of the League of Nations. 

26. What are three aims of the League? 

27. How many nations belong to the League? 

28. What prominent countries do not belong? 

29. Did Japan’s invasion of China reflect discredit upon the League? 

30. Why did the United States refuse to join the League? 

31. Give five ways in which the United States uses or cooperates with the 

League. 

32. Referring to the League the text says, “It is not so much a means of 

better accomplishment as a better means of accomplishment.” 
Explain. 

33. In what ways is the League promoting a better understanding among 

nations? 

34. Identify Elihu Root and Frank B. Kellogg. 

35. In what significant respects does the World Court differ from the 

Hague Tribunal? 

36. Mention three disarmament conferences and tell what each accom¬ 

plished. 

37. What are the Kellogg Treaties? How many nations signed them? 

38. What is the status of the international debts? 

39. Explain mandates and sanctions. Do countries assume mandates for 

their own advantage or for the good of the backward area? 

40. How do tariffs affect foreign trade? International relations? 

41. Can human nature be changed? If so, how? 


INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 


471 


Problems 

1. Problem: To trace the development of the idea of a league of nations. 
Method: Use Becker’s Modern History, and write a list of the people 
who have advocated such a league. (You will find that the League is 
not a new idea.) 

2. Problem: To survey an instance of how the League works. Method: 
Using the newspapers and magazines prepare a report on the most 
recent crisis which threatens to bring on a war. Note the action of 
the League and be prepared to show how it effected peace or why it 
failed. 

3. Problem: To learn about the Roman Peace. Method: Use a text in 
European history and find out the dates for the two centuries of peace 
which the world enjoyed. Try to decide what facts or conditions 
brought it about. 

4. Problem: To join or not to join. Method: Debate: Resolved, that 
the United States should join the League of Nations. (The League 
of Nations Association, 6 East 39th St., New York, might be willing 
to furnish you some information if you write them.) 

5. Problem: To study an aspect of the foreign policy of the United 
States. Method: Read a part of Washington’s Farewell Address 
(Williamson, Readings, 60-62) and Monroe’s Message on what is 
called the Monroe Doctrine (see any text in American history; the 
World Almanac also gives part of the Doctrine). Explain how Mon¬ 
roe’s Doctrine agreed with and how it disagreed with Washington’s 
advice. 


References 

Encyclopedias, on “International Law.” 

Magruder, National Governments and International Relations. (An ex¬ 
cellent book for reference in connection with this chapter.) 

Mower, International Government. 

Munro, American Government Today. 

Spindt and Ryan, Foundations of American Government. 

Williamson, Readings in American Democracy, pp. 60-62. 






APPENDIX 


Glossary 

Bibliography 

Constitution of the United States 


Covenant of the League of Nations 






















































































































' 







*» 

*• 





















































GLOSSARY 


This glossary provides handy definitions, explanations, and sometimes 
examples of the more frequently used terms in the social studies. Some 
terms which do not appear elsewhere in the text are given here; the student 
should therefore familiarize himself with the glossary. On the other hand, 
some terms used in the text are not included in the glossary, and the student 
is urged to use both index and glossary when he seeks information. 

The letters q. v. are an abbreviation for the Latin phrase quod vide and 
mean “which see”; therefore, when q. v. follows a word, the user of the 
glossary should turn to the word cited. 

absentee ownership: Any one who derives income from a property or enter¬ 
prise without directly participating, in his capacity as owner, in the 
management of the property or the direction of the enterprise. Formerly 
the term was applied ta a landed proprietor who lived away from his 
estate. Now the term is also applied to shareholders in a business who 
do not bear a direct responsibility for the conduct of the business. Thus 
in the United States Steel Corporation there are paid stockholders own¬ 
ing part of the enterprise but not even knowing what wages are paid or 
what hours of work are required. 

acquisitiveness: The tendency to struggle for individual possession of 
material objects; by some called an instinct, 
acquired characteristics: Those traits, skills, and abilities which are ac¬ 
quired by the individual as contrasted with those which are inherited 
or innate. It is generally believed that acquired characteristics are not 
hereditary. See germ cell and Mendel's Law. 
action: A legal proceeding instituted for the enforcement or protection of a 
right, the redress or prevention of a wrong, or the punishment of a public 
offense. Actions are civil or criminal. See procedure. 
actionable: Subject to or giving grounds for an action or a suit at law. 
adaptability: The ability of persons or groups to adjust themselves to one 
another or to a new situation or environment, 
agricultural banks: Banks especially designed to meet the needs of farmers 
for long-time credit secured by farm mortgages. See the discussion in 
the text; see rural credit. 

alien: An inhabitant of a country who is not a citizen thereof, 
almsgiving: Giving to relieve the poor, as money, food, clothing; charity, 
ambassador: See diplomatic service. 

American Federation of Labor (A. F. L.): An association that unites into 

475 


476 


GLOSSARY 


one great union many local labor unions all over the United States and 
Canada. Formed in 1881, and largely the creation of its first president, 
Samuel Gompers. The membership does not include all workers, such 
as those who are not unionized (salesmen, bookkeepers, clerks, etc.) and 
those who have unions of their own (as the “Brotherhoods” of locomo¬ 
tive engineers, firemen, and switchmen). Individual laborers may not 
be members of the A. F. L., but only of their local union. The aim of 
the A. F. L. is to promote labor unions, q. v. 

Americanization: Attempts of American-born citizens to promote the 
assimilation of immigrants and their immediate descendants into the 
social, economic, and political life of the United States. The term 
Americanization is loosely used and therefore covers a variety of activi¬ 
ties, among which are (1) instruction in the English language, (2) in¬ 
struction in the rudiments of the social, economic, and political life of 
the United States, (3) protection of the foreign-born against exploitation 
by the native-born or by shrewd foreign-born for economic, political, or 
social reasons, (4) attempts to establish contacts, and (5) propaganda. 

amnesty: A general proclamation containing a pardon for the members of 
a group, as President Harding’s proclamation of amnesty for those still 
imprisoned for conscientious objection to military service during the 
Great War. 

anarchism: A political, social, and economic ideal founded upon the as¬ 
sumption that all authority (that is, law imposed upon the individual by 
the group, especially through government) is evil. One type of anarchism 
is that proclaimed by the French workman Pierre Proudhon (1809-1865), 
according to whom anarchy is an economic and social system wherein 
each person produces what he pleases and consumes as he pleases what 
he produces, free from interference or regulation. A second type is that 
originated by the Russian revolutionist Mikhail Bakunin (1814-1876), 
who made anarchism represent a terroristic resistance to all present gov¬ 
ernment and social order. 

anti-social: Pertaining to conduct which is in opposition to that which is 
approved by society. 

anti-trust laws: Laws designed specifically to regulate the conduct of large 
corporations. 

appeal: In court procedure, the act of carrying litigation to a higher court. 

apportionment: In the United States, the Congressional act by which the 
number of representatives from each state is specified. Not to be con¬ 
founded with districting or gerrymandering. 

arbitration: In general, the settlement of a dispute by disinterested parties. 
Specifically, (1) the settlement of international disputes by a neutral 
nation, by a board of commissioners, or by an established international 
tribunal; or (2) the settlement of industrial disputes (between workmen 
and employers) by a disinterested party or by a board of commissioners. 


GLOSSARY 


477 


In labor disputes some States make arbitration compulsory by providing 
a permanent board. Conciliation, as contrasted with arbitration, is 
the settlement of international or labor disputes by negotiation between 
the parties directly involved; if a disinterested party assists in the nego¬ 
tiations, he does so only as a friendly adviser, not as a judge, 
aristocracy: In a general sense, a superior class. This superiority may be 
evident in government, general leadership, personal qualities, or wealth. 
Specifically, a form of government in which this class rules, 
arson: The crime of deliberately setting fire to property with malicious 
intent, usually by “fire bugs” or by persons seeking thus to collect in¬ 
surance. 

artifacts: Such remains of prehistoric man as were fashioned by a human 
hand, as stone hatchets, pottery, beads, etc. 
assault: The crime of making a violent onset or attack upon an individual. 
Legally, the threat to do so. The double term assault and battery is 
legally synonymous with assault in common parlance, 
assessment: an official levy of the amount of taxes which must be paid, 
asset: The property of a person or corporation which is applicable to the 
payment of his or its debts. Practically synonymous with resources. 
Contrast liabilities. 

atavism: The recurrence in a descendant of a trait of a remote ancestor, 
attache: See diplomatic service. 

attainder: A bill specifically passed to inflict punishment upon a specified 
individual, customarily extinguishing his civil rights. Forbidden by 
most American constitutions. 

Australian ballot: See ballot. 

autocracy: A form of government in which the power is arbitrarily exer¬ 
cised by one person with the implication that it is self-derived, 
bail: The security assigned to guarantee the appearance of a person before 
a court. 

balance of trade: The term used with respect to foreign trade to indicate 
the difference of value between exports and imports. Favorable balance 
is the excess of exports over imports; unfavorable balance is the excess 
of imports over exports. In both cases, the difference of value is usually 
expressed in terms of money. 

ballot: A device for secret voting, customarily in the form of a printed 
ticket. The printed secret ballot was introduced around 1890 from 
Australia; hence this device is called the Australian ballot. Formerly 
voters were called upon to choose so many officers that the required 
ballot was very long; hence the term long ballot. Recently the number 
of elective officers in many state and city governments has been greatly 
reduced, resulting in the short ballot. 

bank: a financial institution for the purpose of facilitating financial trans¬ 
actions and for the safe-keeping of money and valuables. Banks in 


478 


GLOSSARY 


the United States may be divided into (1) commercial banks, (2) Federal 
Reserve banks, (3) agricultural banks, (4) savings banks, and (5) invest¬ 
ment banks. 

bankruptcy: The state of insolvency — that is, inability to meet financial 
obligations because assets are less than liabilities. Bankruptcy does not 
necessarily entail personal poverty on the part of the bankrupt; it signi¬ 
fies merely that he is no longer legally obligated to meet certain financial 
obligations. 

barter: A mode of exchange not employing money but, instead, changing 
one article or commodity directly for another; as when James gives his 
geometry book to John in return for John’s Latin book. Exchange by 
barter should be contrasted with exchange through a medium of exchange, 
q. v. See also exchange and money. 

bear: A term used on the stock exchange to designate a person who sells 
securities for future delivery in expectation of a fall in the market, hoping 
thereby to profit to the extent of the difference between the price of the 
securities when he sold them and the price when he has to buy them for 
delivery. 

beneficiary: One who receives anything as a gift or bequest. Specifically, 
the person designated to receive the income of a trust estate, or the person 
named in an insurance policy or an annuity policy as the one who is to 
receive the proceeds accruing thereunder. 

bicameral: Of or pertaining to a two-chamber legislative branch; thus 
the federal Congress is bicameral, containing two chambers, the Senate 
and the House. 

bigamy: The crime of ceremonially marrying a person when already legally 
married to another. 

bill: A written proposal, to a legislative assembly, for enactment; if 
passed, it becomes a law. 

bill of exchange: An unconditional order in writing, signed by one person 
(drawer), directing a second person (the drawee) to pay a third person 
(the payee) or his order a certain sum of money at some definite time in 
the future. A form of draft, q. v. 

Bill of Rights: A term customarily applied, in the United States, to the 
first ten amendments to the Constitution, which enumerate rights guar¬ 
anteed to the individual. (See the Constitution in the Appendix.) 
Most state constitutions contain a similar list. Historically, the Bill of 
Rights refers to a series of enactments by the English Parliament around 
1689, guaranteeing Englishmen rights of assembly, etc., some of which 
had previously appeared in the Petition of Right (1628) and the Magna « 
Carta (1215), q. v. 

bimetallism: a system in which both gold and silver are used concurrently 
as materials for the standard money, and the monetary unit is defined 
as a certain weight of silver or gold. The law prescribes the exact compo- 


GLOSSARY 479 

sition of each metal. Example: the monetary system of the United 
States until 1900. 

birth rate: The ratio of the number of births to the population, 
black list: In industry, an employer’s list of laborers whom he regards as 
objectionable. The effectiveness of such lists lies in the fact that em¬ 
ployers exchange with each other their black lists, thus making it ex¬ 
tremely difficult for blacklisted persons to find work. Illegal, but difficult 
to discover and even more difficult to prove. Compare unfair list. 
bloc: A group in a legislative body who occupy common ground on a 
specific issue. Blocs are mobile and are constantly re-aligning as new 
issues arise. They are therefore to be distinguished from political parties, 
which represent general policies and a fairly permanent alignment of 
interests. Examples: the agriculture bloc and the sugar bloc in regard 
to the tariff. 

blue-sky laws: Laws regulating “paper transactions” to protect the in¬ 
vestor against misrepresentation as to the nature of the property itself. 
The term arose from the extravagant representation of salesmen of se¬ 
curities who would even “sell the blue sky.” 
bolshevism: A term widely and loosely used to signify the present govern¬ 
ment and social order in Russia, or to describe any proposal elsewhere 
that appears to embody ideas similar to those of the Russian system. 
The word bolshevist (bolshinstvo) originally meant majority, but cannot 
now be said to carry that significance, for it has become attached to a 
particular political party in Russia. See soviet. 
bond: A form of promissory note issued by corporations to those who lend 
them money. Bondholders are not owners and are not to be confused 
with stockholders or shareholders, who are owners, 
bonding company: An organization that, upon the payment of a fee, 
guarantees the financial integrity of administrators, officers, and other 
persons who occupy positions of trust involving considerable sums. 
Some bonding companies furnish bail for prisoners, 
bonus: A device to increase the laborer’s production by giving him extra 
pay for more than a standardized quantity of production. See also 
soldier's bonus. 

book account: An entry on the books of a seller, charging the buyer with 
the price of the goods. Such a sale is equivalent to a loan from the seller 
to the buyer, and book accounts (sometimes called open book accounts) 
are therefore classed as a form of credit, 
boss: A man who has secured practical control of a party organization, 
usually by personal and financial influence. • 
boycott: The word boycotting is widely used to mean simply avoiding or 
holding aloof from. More strictly, the boycott is to be understood as 
one of the methods whereby organized laborers enforce their demands 
upon a landlord or an employer, by combining among themselves to with- 


480 


GLOSSARY 


hold business dealings with him and to induce others to do so until he 
accedes to their demands. Picketing may but need not accompany such 
action. 

budget: In governments, an orderly plan for the expenditure of funds in a 
given period on the basis of tax receipts. In 1921 Congress created the 
Bureau of the Budget to budget national expenditures, at the same time 
not relinquishing its right to make special appropriations not included in 
the annual budget. 

building and loan associations: See cooperation in credit. 
bull: A term used on the stock exchange for one who tries to effect a rise 
in the price of securities, usually so that he may profit from the advance 
in price of securities that he has himself bought at a lower price, 
burglary: The crime of entering the premises of another with intent to com¬ 
mit a felony, q. v. ; the exact limits of the term burglary are set by state 
statutes, and therefore vary from state to state, 
business cycle: An industrial phenomenon of three stages: (1) a period of 
prosperity during which prices rise and business flourishes, (2) the crisis, 
in which this prosperity has reached its crest, and (3) a period of depres¬ 
sion, during which business languishes and prices decline. The theory of 
business cycles is not carefully worked out. 
by-product: Something produced, as in manufacture, in addition to the 
principal product; as the beef industry produces many of our soaps, 
candidate: One who offers himself for election to public office, 
capital: One of the forms of wealth, consisting of economic goods used to 
promote the production of other goods or the acquirement of more 
wealth. Money hidden in the mattress is wealth, but is not capital be¬ 
cause it is not employed in the promotion of production or the acquire¬ 
ment of more wealth. Money that we use solely for the purpose of 
present enjoyment is not capital, because we are not putting it to pro¬ 
duction. The carpenter’s hammers and saws, railways, machinery, 
factories and their equipment, and roads are all capital because they are 
used for production of more wealth. Fixed capital is money invested 
in equipment which is used repeatedly in production; for example, a 
lathe. Circulating capital is money invested in a product which is. used 
only once; for example, coal. Compare goods, consumption versus pro¬ 
duction. 

capitalism: An economic system in which capital or capitalists play the 
leading part. The economic system of the United States, Canada, and 
most European countries is a capitalistic system, 
capitalist: Generally, one who furnishes or secures the money with which 
to undertake a business enterprise. In this sense, many people who are 
also laborers are capitalists, for they save money and invest it. More 
strictly, the capitalist is one of a relatively small group who in modern 
industry are employers or entrepreneurs. To this class belong most 


GLOSSARY 


481 


merchants, manufacturers, and contractors, and many farmers. The 
members of this class are paid from the net profits of economic activity, 
whereas laborers are paid from the gross profits. 

capital punishment: Legal infliction of a death penalty, as distinguished 
from murder and lynching. 

capitation tax: A tax levied on the individual, as distinguished from a 
tax levied on the individual’s property or income; that is, a tax “per 
capita ” or per head. Sometimes called poll tax. 

carrier: A person, group of persons, or corporation engaged in the business 
of carrying goods for others for hire, as a railroad, a bus. Common 
carrier has a similar meaning. 

case method: A method of study which examines closely an instance (of an 
individual, a situation, or a community), sometimes for the purpose of 
treating the individual, sometimes for the purpose of drawing general 
conclusions from a typical instance. The method is employed in law, 
medicine, economics, and sociology. 

caste: The custom by which various racial or occupational groups are 
rigidly restricted to their hereditary classes or callings. The term is often 
used of any class system. 

caucus: A meeting of the members of a party to determine their policy. 
Such meetings may be of the members of a legislative assembly who 
belong to a certain party to determine how they will vote in the legisla¬ 
ture, or of the citizens who adhere to a certain party. 

chain store: One of the recent developments in retailing, especially of 
drugs, groceries, tobacco, and candy. As its name indicates, the chain 
store is a link in a chain of stores, all under one control and management. 
The success of chain stores aroused the opposition of independent re¬ 
tailers, who secured the passage of special laws in several states designed 
to curtail them. An example of such laws was that passed in Indiana, 
levying a special tax on chain stores. In May, 1931, the United States 
Supreme Court upheld this law. Another way in which the independent 
merchants have endeavored to meet the competition of the chain stores 
is by the formation of organizations for the wholesale purchase of their 
supplies. See combination. 

charter: The legal permit to incorporate, applicable to municipalities and 
to business concerns. To incorporate is to form a corpus or body, that is, 
to become a “legal person” for certain purposes (only), which are speci¬ 
fied in the charter. 

check: One form of draft, consisting of a written order on a bank, by one 
of its depositors, directing the bank to pay, from the depositor’s account, 
the sum named, to the person (payee) named on the face of the check, or 
his order. See clearing house. 

checks and balances: The system by which one branch of the government 
serves as a restraint upon another. For example, the President’s power 


482 


GLOSSARY 


of appointment is checked by the Senate’s power of withholding con¬ 
firmation; Congress’s power to pass laws is checked by the President’s 
power to veto; the legislative powers of the President and Congress are 
checked by the power of the federal courts to declare laws unconstitu¬ 
tional. Thus the powers of the respective branches balance each other 
and serve as checks upon one another, 
child labor: The employment of children in gainful occupations, not only 
in factories, mines, quarries, mills, and shops, but also in agriculture, 
domestic service, street trades, stores, messenger service and tenement 
homework. 

citizen: Generally, a member of a country who has all the rights of that 
country, as the right, within the legal restrictions, to acquire and hold 
property, to use the courts, to vote, and to be protected at home and 
abroad. A citizen of the United States is any one, regardless of age, born 
in this country or naturalized in it who has not forfeited his citizenship, 
city planning : A deliberate plan for the growth of a city which takes into 
account its future needs, especially for schools, playgrounds, parks, and 
special districts. These special districts are provided for by zoning , that 
is, the division of the city into residential, industrial, and commercial 
areas. In city planning great stress has been laid upon improving the 
convenience and appearance of the city by widening the streets, planting 
trees, building outdoor theaters, etc. 

class struggle : A figurative expression, used by some theorists to designate 
their doctrine of the relation between groups of people in a modern indus¬ 
trial state. Such persons hold that employers and employees, capitalists 
and laborers are and must continue to be enemies. Those who emphasize 
the class struggle are usually sympathetic with labor. Since many per¬ 
sons are both capitalists and laborers, the doctrine fails apparently to 
square with all the facts. 

clearing house : An institution formed by the banks in any community to 
make easier the adjustments of funds necessary between them because 
of the issuance of checks. The system operates as follows: To the clear¬ 
ing house, each member-bank sends all the checks it received the pre¬ 
ceding day on other member-banks, and there it distributes them to 
agents of the banks on which they were drawn; it also receives there any 
checks drawn on itself. Each bank then pays into or receives from the 
clearing house the difference between the amount of the checks that were 
drawn against it by other member-banks, and the amount which other 
member-banks had against it. 
closed shop : One in which only union men can work, 
cloture : Limitation of debate in a legislative assembly, 
collateral loans: See security. 

collective bargaining: Bargaining by groups, instead of as individuals. 
Either employers or employees may engage in collective bargaining, but 


GLOSSARY 


483 


the term most commonly refers to the bargaining of a group of workers 
with their employer; usually the bargaining is over wages or working 
conditions. Such collective bargaining for wages is a favorite device 
of trade or labor unions; it puts the laborers at an advantage with 
employers, because it reduces competition between the laborers them¬ 
selves for employment and wages, and takes from the employer some of 
his control of the labor-market. 

combination: A term used to describe the uniting of a number of plants 
under one management in order to secure the advantages of large scale 
management (not identical with large scale production). Such combina¬ 
tions are either horizontal or vertical; that is, either they are on “one 
plane of activity,” or they “ cut up and down through a number of planes 
of activity.” A horizontal combination unites under one management a 
number of plants that are engaged in the same or in closely overlapping 
economic activities. A chain of retail stores represents horizontal com¬ 
bination because each member-store is engaged in the same type of ac¬ 
tivity as the others. A vertical combination unites under one management 
a number of plants each of which is engaged in a different stage of pro¬ 
ducing a finished product. A steel company is a vertical combination if 
it owns its iron and coar mines, railroads, steamships, smelting and re¬ 
fining outfits, etc. A vertical combination may take the production of an 
article all the way from nature to the final customer’s hands. A com¬ 
pany may involve both horizontal and vertical combination. 

commercial bank: One that functions as a depository and as an agency for 
loans and discounts; some national commercial banks also issue notes. 

commercial credit: Also called mercantile credit. The credit which busi¬ 
ness men extend to one another in the exchange of goods. The means of 
extending and receiving such credit are (1) promissory note, (2) trade 
acceptance, (3) draft or bill of exchange, and (4) book account. See 
these terms in the glossary. 

commission government: A system of municipal government in which 
government is centralized in a commission or board. The functions of 
the city government are divided among the various members of the com¬ 
mission, one of them acting as the nominal mayor. Each commissioner 
represents the whole city and not a particular district, as in the old alder- 
manic system; consequently, all of the commissioners are elected by 
city-wide ballot. 

communism: A system of social organization in which all property is held 
in common. It is difficult to distinguish communism from socialism, 
bolshevism, syndicalism, and other radical systems. In popular parlance, 
communism is synonymous with bolshevism. 

communist manifesto: A tract issued in 1848 by Frederick Engels and 
Karl Marx, giving in concise form the socialist doctrines. They were 
later elaborated in Marx’s famous book entitled Capital. 


484 


GLOSSARY 


commutation: The act by an executive of changing the sentence for crime 
to a less severe one; for example, the death penalty may be commuted 
by the governor to life imprisonment, 
competition: Fundamentally, a struggle or contest between two or more 
persons for tjie same object. In economics, this means a struggle for 
materials and customers. See monopoly. When one competitor carries 
on business at a loss in order to drive another out of business, the practice 
is called cut-throat competition. 
compulsory arbitration: See arbitration. 

concentration: (1) A crowding of many people into a relatively small area. 
(2) A gathering of comparatively large amounts of wealth into the hands 
of relatively few people, 
conciliation: See arbitration. 

confederation: An organization of a number of independent, sovereign 
powers or states into a loose group which acts for common purposes but 
to which the powers do not surrender their sovereignty, 
conservative: A person who is inclined to believe that things should be 
left as they are. He believes that progress may best take place without 
resort to radical changes in social institutions or in the forms of govern¬ 
ment. Contrast liberal, reactionary and radical. 
consolidation: (1) For application of this term to business, see combination. 
(2) As applied to schools, it means elimination of several small scattered 
schools and the construction, instead, of large centralized schools, 
constitution: A recognized and established process for carrying on govern¬ 
ment. This process may be written, unwritten, or partly each. In the 
United States our general procedure is embodied in written constitutions, 
but customs and conventions outside the written constitution become 
essentially a part of our process for carrying on the government, and in 
a real sense they thereby become part of our constitution, 
constitutionality: The state of being in accord with the constitution. A 
law which is in accordance with the constitution under which it was 
passed is constitutional. 

consular service: The system of accredited representatives in foreign terri¬ 
tory to look after the details of such international affairs as trade and 
travel. Consuls aid in collecting commercial information, enforcing 
American customs laws, and excluding undesirable immigrants; they 
approve passports and aid American travelers in difficulty, 
consumers’ cooperation: See cooperation in consumption. 
consumers’ goods, consumption goods: See goods. 

contempt of court: Primarily, any act or failure to act which a court may 
construe as disregard or contempt of its dignity and authority, and 
punish accordingly, from the bench and without trial. The two most 
common kinds of contempt are disrespect in the courtroom and failure 
to obey an injunction. See injunction. 


GLOSSARY 485 

contract: An oral or written agreement between two or more persons which 
may be enforced by law. 

convention: A term variously applied. (1) A meeting of delegates, offi¬ 
cially representing the rank and file of the party, for such purposes as 
nominating candidates and writing platforms. See nomination. (2) A 
body officially elected for the purpose of framing a constitution. (3) A 
certain type of treaty, usually one with a definite time limit, 
cooperation: In general, collective action of a number of persons in the 
pursuit of common well-being, especially in some industrial or business 
process. Important applications of the “cooperative idea” in modern 
economic organization are to be found in the fields of production, con¬ 
sumption, and exchange. See cooperation in consumption, cooperation in 
credit, cooperation in marketing, and cooperation in production. 
cooperation in consumption: (Also called distributive, consumers', con¬ 
sumptive, or purchasers' cooperation.) A type of retailing organization 
designed to reduce the cost of exchanging the products of industry by 
eliminating some of the middlemen from the process of exchange; the 
middlemen eliminated are jobbers and retailers. A number of individuals 
contribute their savings to a common fund, buy certain desired commodi¬ 
ties at wholesale prices, and distribute these among themselves, usually 
through a store operated under their direction and at the regular retail 
prices. At stated intervals, the profits of the business are distributed 
among the cooperators in proportion to the amount of their individual 
purchases. Thus the difference between the wholesale and the retail 
price — minus the expense of conducting the store — goes to the co- 
operators, instead of to a storekeeper or other middleman, 
cooperation in credit: (Also called cooperative banking and banking cooper¬ 
ation.) A type of financial organization designed to enable persons of 
small means to secure loans and invest money under favorable conditions 
not otherwise open to them. Such credit cooperation takes a variety of 
forms, of which the following is typical. A group of persons, after receiv¬ 
ing a charter from the state, form a credit society by contributing per¬ 
sonal savings to a common fund. On the strength of this relatively large 
capital, plus their individual liability, the society borrows more capital, 
which they get more cheaply and more readily than the person of small 
means could dealing individually at a bank. This supply of money is 
then available to individual members, at a rate higher than the society 
paid yet lower than the individual members would pay if they individ¬ 
ually sought loans at a bank. Building and Loan Associations, National 
Farm Loan Associations, and Farmers’ Joint-Stock Land Banks are illus¬ 
trations of such credit societies. 

cooperation in marketing: A type of exchange organization, largely con¬ 
fined to the marketing of agricultural products such as fruit, dairy 
products, cereals, and live stock, designed to eliminate some of the 


486 


GLOSSARY 


middlemen from the process of exchange and also protect the interest of 
the producer in the market. Thus a number of farmers having wheat to 
market may form an organization, rent or build their own storage ele¬ 
vator and employ an agent to watch the market and dispose of the grain 
under the best possible terms. 

cooperation in production: (Also called producers' cooperation and pro¬ 
ductive cooperation.) A type of industrial organization designed to in¬ 
crease labor’s share in the distribution of income from productive enter¬ 
prises by doing away with the claim of the entrepreneur or managing 
employer or capitalist to profits, q.v. In a given enterprise organized 
on the cooperative plan, the workmen either themselves or through 
salaried agents manage the enterprise, accept the risks, and share the 
profits. Not to be confounded with profit sharing, q. v. 

corner: The state of things produced by persons who buy up all or the 
available part of any stock or property, and thus compel those who need 
it to buy from them at their own price. 

corporation: An artificial person called into being by an act of the state to 
exercise certain powers (and those only) conferred upon it by the state. 

corrupt-practices acts: Laws designed to purify elections, especially by 
regulating the use of money in them. 

cost: The value of that which is given for another thing. (1) From the 
standpoint of the purchaser, cost is measured by price. (2) The larger 
the number of units produced, the less each unit costs to produce; there¬ 
fore, decreasing cost is the decrease in cost of production as the quantity 
of production rises. (3) Replacement cost is the sum necessary to restore 
capital goods to the condition in which they were before production 
began; machinery wears out, and one part of the cost of production is 
therefore the cost of replacing worn machinery. The fund which most 
producers reserve out of their gross profits for this replacement is called 
a replacement fund. 

court: Legally, a tribunal established by law for the administration of 
justice by the application of law to specific cases. In the United States, 
courts may be classed as either federal or state. The federal courts are 
the Supreme Court, ten circuit courts, ninety-six district courts, the 
court of claims, and the courts of custom. State courts are the state su¬ 
preme court, appellate courts, circuit courts, county courts, justice of the 
peace courts; in addition to these state courts, the state constitution, 
through city charters, authorizes the establishment of municipal courts 
which administer city ordinances; further, some states have probate 
courts, courts of domestic relations, and juvenile courts. The nature 
of the two last named is apparent from their titles; the probate court 
appoints administrators for the estates of persons who have died in¬ 
testate, q. v., and probates wills — that is, decides the legality of the 
will and qualifies and appoints the executors. 


GLOSSARY 


487 


All of these courts may be most quickly defined by indicating their places 
in the court system. In the federal courts a case usually originates in one 
of the ninety-six federal district courts; if appealed, it is carried to one 
of the federal circuit courts; if again appealed, it goes to the Supreme 
Court, which renders final decision. In the state courts, petty cases, 
either of conduct or small sums of money, are disposed of by justices of 
the peace or by county courts. Cases involving either severe punishment 
or a considerable sum of money are first tried in a circuit court; if ap¬ 
pealed from the circuit court, the case is carried to a court of appeals 
(appellate courts); the final interpretation of a case arising under a state 
constitution is made by the state supreme court. In case its decision is 
thought to involve some provision of the federal Constitution, the liti¬ 
gants may have the case transferred to the federal courts, which will 
then try it from that angle only. 

These are the usual routes in the trial of a case, but certain crimes go 
in the first instance into certain courts. See jurisdiction. 

credit: The securing, or the ability to secure, money, goods, or services in 
the present by means of a promise to pay for them in the future. Credit, 
from an economic point of view, is identical in principle no matter how 
extended, but the methods of applying this principle are so various that 
we commonly speak of (1) personal, (2) commercial or mercantile, 
(3) bank, (4) investment or corporation, (5) rural or agricultural, and 
(6) public credit. 

crime: The commission of an act forbidden by law, or the omission of a 
duty commanded by law. To be distinguished from sin, evil, or other 
forms of wrongdoing not specifically treated in the laws. Crimes are 
either felonies or misdemeanors. See arson, assault, bigamy, burglary, 
felony, homicide, libel, manslaughter, misdemeanor, perjury, robbery , 
slander, theft f and treason. 

criminology: The scientific study of crime, either as a social phenomenon 
or for practical treatment of individuals. 

culture: All accumulated mental achievements of the human race — insti¬ 
tutions, creeds, discoveries, inventions, etc. 

culture base: The customs, habits, modes of thought, sentiments, attitudes, 
and the like which an individual receives in early life principally from his 
home environment. 

currency: Paper used as money. In the United States, this consists of 
treasury notes, greenbacks, national bank notes, federal reserve notes, 
federal reserve bank notes, gold certificates, and silver certificates. All 
these “pass current” as money. 

custom: A social habit. The whole body of practices or habits which 
regulate social life. 

dark horse: A candidate who unexpectedly contests with or wins the 
nomination over favored candidates. 


488 


GLOSSARY 


death rate: The ratio of the number of deaths to the population, 
defendant: One against whom court action has been brought, either civil 
or criminal. 

delegates: Variously used, to designate (1) a member of a political conven¬ 
tion, (2) a member of a constitutional convention, (3) a representative 
in Congress from a territory, (4) a member of the lower house of a bi¬ 
cameral city legislature, and (5) in general a representative of any sort 
of organization for some special purpose, such as “delegate to an inter¬ 
national peace conference” and “walking delegate of a labor union.” 
demand: That desire for goods which is backed by purchasing power. An 
elastic demand is one which increases as the price is lowered. An inelastic 
demand is one which increases not at all or only slightly because of de¬ 
crease in price. Thus the demand for bread is inelastic because the 
amount demanded will not be appreciably increased by a lower price, 
whereas the demand for automobiles is elastic because it will be greatly 
increased by lowering the price. According to the law of demand, other 
things remaining the same, demand varies inversely with the price, 
density of population: The number of inhabitants per square mile, 
dependency: The condition of any one under the necessity of seeking 
charitable assistance, whether from public poor funds or elsewhere. A 
broader term than pauperism. See pauper. 
deposition: Written and sworn testimony to be used by a court in deter¬ 
mining whether a complaint is actionable, q. v., or as evidence, 
depreciation: A lowering of value. (1) If there are too many goods in pro¬ 
portion to demand, each unit suffers a corresponding decline in value. 
(2) This principle applies also to money. Therefore, if the amount of 
money in circulation is increased to a considerable extent, prices must 
inevitably rise, which is another way of saying that money has depreci¬ 
ated. The depreciation or appreciation (increase in purchasing power) 
of money has given rise to the terms real wages and money wages to 
characterize this change in the purchasing power of wages, 
diminishing returns: In agriculture, after a certain point has been reached 
in the cultivation of a given area of land, additional applications of labor 
and capital to that area increase the output but not in proportion to the 
increase of capital and labor employed. The same principle is applicable 
to all kinds of production. 

diminishing utility: The decrease of economic goods in utility after a certain 
point of satisfaction has been reached. Called the law or principle of 
diminishing utility. 

diplomatic service: The system of exchanging accredited representatives 
among nations. The United States divides its diplomats into the follow¬ 
ing classes: (1) ambassadors, who represent the United States in the 
fourteen most powerful countries; (2) ministers-plenipotentiary, to 
less powerful countries; (3) ministers-resident, to the smallest countries. 


GLOSSARY 


489 


In the absence of an accredited diplomatic representative, the duties 
are performed by a charge d'affaires ad interim. Many aspects of inter¬ 
national relations are cared for by the consular service, q. v. 
direct primary, direct primary elections: See nomination. 
discounting : The practice of buying notes before they are due by paying 
less than the face value of the note. Suppose A gives B a note for $100 
due in six months; but B needs the money immediately; he takes the 
note to the bank, which pays him $100 minus the discount, and B gets 
his money right away. A, instead of owing B, now owes the bank. The 
difference between the face value and what the bank actually pays is 
called the discount. Interest paid in advance is called bank discount. 
discrimination: Used mostly to describe the practice by some common 
carriers of favoring persons, localities, or classes of goods by granting 
lower rates to some than to others. “A difference in rate not based upon 
any corresponding difference in cost constitutes a case of discrimination.” 
distribution : The process by which all the persons (landlord, entrepreneur, 
capitalist, and laborer) involved in a given enterprise are enabled to share 
in the income from the finished product, 
dividends : The earnings or profits which a corporation pays to its stock¬ 
holders. 

division of labor : A form of cooperation in the production of goods in which 
several persons working together perform one task by splitting the task 
as a whole into a number of lesser tasks, each person restricting his ac¬ 
tivity to one of the lesser tasks. There is division of labor (1) in a school 
between janitor, pupils, teachers, and administrative officers, (2) in a 
factory when each of the steps in the process of manufacturing a given 
article is assigned to a different worker, as in the manufacture of a Ford 
car, (3) between sections of the country in so far as each section spe¬ 
cializes in a limited number of products for widespread distribution among 
other sections, and (4) between nations in so far as each nation similarly 
specializes. 

domestic system: See industrial revolution. 

draft: As the name signifies, a “drafting” of money —that is, an order 
to pay. It therefore originates with the creditor and is an order, whereas 
a promissory note originates with the debtor and is a promise. Drafts 
are made payable (1) immediately, or at sight (sight draft), (2) whenever 
the creditor demands the money (demand draft), or (3) at a specified 
time after it is drawn (time draft). 

due process of law : Legal proceeding which is in accordance with the law 
of the land. What constitutes due process of law is often a matter for 
court decision. 

dumping: Exportation of goods to foreign countries for the purpose of un¬ 
loading a surplus or of destroying their industries which produce those 
goods. The United States has anti-dumping laws. 


490 


GLOSSARY 


economic law: A general principle derived from the observation of a num¬ 
ber of instances of economic activity. Such a law holds good, of course, 
only so long as it is not neutralized by opposing ones. 

economic rent: The amount paid to the owner of a piece of land on account 
of the greater advantage which this land affords in production over some 
other piece of land. In farm land, economic rent arises chiefly from fer¬ 
tility of the land; on urban land, economic rent arises chiefly from loca¬ 
tion. In either case, the owner of the land has had little or nothing to 
do with the existence of this increased or economic rent. Hence it is also 
styled unearned increment. 

economics: The science that investigates the conditions and laws affecting 
the production, distribution, and consumption of wealth, or the material 
means of satisfying human desires. 

economy: The system by which anything is managed; especially the wise 
getting and using of goods and their equivalents, and the wise use of time 
and effort. Society economizes by choosing to produce important things, 
using power efficiently, and avoiding waste of time, energy, goods, or 
human life. 

elector: In general, a voter. Specifically, a member of the Electoral 
College. (See Amendment XII to the Constitution.) 

emigration: The act of removing from a country with the intention of 
settling in another. 

eminent domain: The right of a government to buy property for public 
use against the wishes of the owner. For example, the building of a high¬ 
way must be completed regardless of whether some individual owners 
desire to sell the necessary land; in such cases, the government has the 
power of eminent domain, by means of which it compels the owners to 
sell to the government their property, the value of which is determined 
by a jury. 

employers’ associations: The general term for associations of employers 
to promote their interest, especially in legislation and in dealing with 
labor. 

endogamy: The custom of marrying only within the group or clan. Op¬ 
posite of exogamy, q. v. 

endorsement: See security. 

engrossment: The printing of a legislative bill in its final form, previous to 
final action upon it. 

entrepreneur: A person or group of persons who organize, manage, and 
assume the risks of a business enterprise. 

environment: Surroundings, in which should be included not only such 
directly observable items as food, shelter, and clothing, and geographic 
conditions, but also the information, opinions, practices, customs, senti¬ 
ments, and convictions of men, for these also surround one. Thus a 
father’s ideas about politics are part of his son’s environment, and the 


GLOSSARY 


491 


beliefs and sentiments of Americans about Abraham Lincoln are part of 
each American’s environment. Environment and heredity, q. v., are 
sometimes said to be the two great forces operating upon humanity, 
eugenics: The principles of being well born. According to them, only the 
fit should be permitted to marry and reproduce. The elimination of the 
unfit would improve the quality of the race, physically and mentally. 
Opinions on the subject vary greatly, and exceedingly little progress 
of a scientific nature has been made. Compare genetics. 
exchange: The giving of one article of wealth in return for another. The 
essential aspect of such exchange is not merely the transfer of goods from 
one hand into another, but the transfer of ownership (as contrasted with 
mere possession). Exchange takes place either by barter or by a medium 
of exchange, such as money, 
excise: See tax. 

exogamy: The custom which prohibits marriage between members of the 
same group or clan. Opposite of endogamy, q. v. 
ex post facto law: One which declares an act to be a crime which was not 
a crime at the time it was committed; in other words, a law retroactive 
in its application. Forbidden by the federal and most state constitutions, 
extradition: In the United States, the process of returning a person accused 
of a crime to the state from which he fled. Extradition is also practiced 
among nations in accordance with treaties, 
extraterritoriality: The carrying of the rights and privileges of one nation 
into the territory of another nation. The courtesy accorded diplomatic 
representatives by exempting them from the laws of the nation to which 
they are accredited. Practiced also to a large degree by the citizens of 
powerful countries when they are in backward countries, 
extrovert: One who gives his interests to the outer world and attributes 
an all-important value to it. He responds readily to his environment 
and is likely to be of a sociable nature. Contrast introvert. 
face value: See par value. 
factory system: See industrial revolution. 

favorite son: A candidate for the presidency who has only a sectional or 
regional following. 

Federal Reserve banks: The twelve banks established by the Federal 
Reserve Act of 1913, to serve banks in their respective districts, rather 
than individuals. They do so by holding the deposits for member-banks, 
by rediscounting commercial paper, by issuing two kinds of notes (see 
currency ), and by serving as clearing houses, 
feeble-minded: Those whose brains are not normally developed. They are 
divided into morons, imbeciles, and idiots, 
felony: One of the two classes of crime, the other being misdemeanors. 
State laws vary, but in most states felonies are crimes punishable by 
confinement in a state prison or by death. 


492 


GLOSSARY 


fiat money: See money. 

filibuster: The delaying of action in a legislative body, either by prolonging 
unnecessarily debate and speeches, or by taking advantage of parlia¬ 
mentary rules. 

finance company: See installment buying. 

fiscal agent: One who takes care of financial affairs for another. Trust 
companies are fiscal agents. 

forced labor: Defined by the United States tariff acts as “all work or service 
which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty for its 
non-performance, and for which the worker does not offer himself volun¬ 
tarily.” Examples: the work or service exacted in penitentiaries and 
penal colonies, or in a community or state requiring by law the indi¬ 
vidual to labor at a given task. 

franchise: A right granted by law. The two most common uses are to 
designate (1) the right to vote and (2) the privilege of a public utility 
to the use of roads, streets, or other properties, 
franking privilege: The privilege accorded federal officials of using the 
mails free of charge for the transaction of public business, 
fraud: Intentional perversion of truth in order to induce another to sur¬ 
render a legal right or to part with some valuable thing belonging to him. 
free trade: The exchange of goods between nations without the payment 
of tariffs. The term has come to apply to tariffs which merely equalize 
the cost of goods in the different countries, 
futures: Things bought and sold for future delivery, especially in specula¬ 
tion in grain, provisions, and stocks. See bear and bull. 
general assembly: A term sometimes used to designate the state legisla¬ 
ture; in other states assembly is used to designate the lower house of 
the legislature. 

genetics: That branch of biology which deals with heredity and variation 
among plants and animals. See eugenics. 
germ cell: From one point of view, all the cells of a human being can be 
divided into two classes, body cells (by far the larger number) and germ 
cells. It is through the germ cell that the origin of the next generation 
takes place. The germ cell seems to be quite uninfluenced by the body, 
and consequently acquired characteristics are not passed on to the next 
generation. This theory is called Weismann’s Germ Plasm Theory, 
gerrymandering: The act of arranging districts so as to favor the party in 
power. 

gold standard: The use of gold as the standard of value for monetary units, 
good or goods: Anything capable of satisfying a human want, whether 
that want be worthy or unworthy, or concern the material, intellectual, 
or spiritual. Distinguish from wealth, q. v. Goods are classified as 
(1) consumption or production, (2) free or economic, (3) perishable or 
durable, and (4) present or future. 


GLOSSARY 


493 


goods, consumption versus production: Production goods are such goods 
as are wanted not primarily for their own sake but in order to produce 
goods that will satisfy human wants. Thus raw materials, machinery 
in a factory, and many transportation devices are production goods. 
Consumption goods are such goods as satisfy human wants directly, as 
food and clothing. Many goods are both production and consumption 
goods; thus electricity used as light in the house may be consumption 
goods, but used to run a factory machine it is production goods. 

goods, free versus economic: Free goods are those furnished freely and 
abundantly by nature, as air and sunlight, sometimes water, and some¬ 
times land. Economic goods are those of which there is an insufficient 
supply to satisfy the demand for them, thus calling for economic activity 
by man to supply the demand. Water might be an economic good in 
cities because of its scarcity, and the demand for it would call for the 
application of both labor and capital. 

goods, perishable versus durable: Perishable goods are those which can 
be used only once without the destruction of their utility or power to 
satisfy a human want; groceries and gasoline are examples. Durable 
goods are those which can be used over and over again without destruc¬ 
tion of their utility or power to satisfy a human want; jewelry and ma¬ 
chinery are examples. 

goods, present versus future: Present goods are those which are available 
now; future goods are those which will be available at some time in the 
future. 

government, study of: The study of the organization and management 
of a country or state (q. v.) ; as an advanced study, it is usually called 
political science; as a more elementary study, it is usually called civics. 
These subjects deal with the development, organization, and functions 
of a government. 

grandfather clause: A legal provision in some of the southern states, de¬ 
signed to exclude Negroes from voting. Such a provision achieved its 
end by requiring a voter to show that his grandfather was a voter. Since 
the grandfathers of most living American Negroes were slaves, it was 
impossible for them to meet this requirement; hence they could not 
vote. 

greenbacks: A form of currency which is not backed by anything except 
the promise of the government. These greenbacks were issued during 
the Civil War, and about 350 million of them are still in circulation. See 
currency. 

gregariousness: The disposition of an individual to seek association among 
his kind. 

Gresham’s law: Poor money drives good money out of circulation. 

habeas corpus: A writ or court order directing a jailer to free a prisoner 
for the purpose of appearing before a court in order that the court may 


494 


GLOSSARY 


determine whether there is sufficient evidence to justify the continuance 
of his imprisonment. 

hedge (verb): To safeguard oneself from loss in bets or speculations by 
betting or speculating on the other side, 
heredity: The transmission, or passing on, of the physical and mental 
characters of parents to their offspring. The problem of how char¬ 
acteristics are transmitted has been the subject of numerous experi¬ 
mentations, and some fundamental laws of heredity have been worked 
out, the best known of which are Mendel’s Law, q. v., and the Germ 
Plasm Theory of Weismann (see germ cell). 
holding company: A corporation whose business it is to own the stock or 
securities of other companies. Holding companies have been frequently 
organized to get around anti-trust laws, which break up or prevent the 
formation of huge, monopolistic trusts; the holding company obviously 
enables the trust to continue to exist in separate units, 
home rule: Broadly, the power to legislate locally. Specifically, home rule 
refers to the independence of a city, in one or more respects, from control 
by the state which incorporated it. Such independence must come by 
grant from the state, and usually concerns such matters as the right of 
a city to frame its own charter or to control its own police and public 
utilities. 

homicide: The killing of one human being by another. This is a general 
term to include the various kinds of murder and manslaughter, 
humanitarianism: The doctrine and practice of consideration for less 
fortunate people of any kind, class, or type, 
illiterate: One who is without knowledge acquired by reading or study, 
especially one who cannot read or write. According to the United States 
Census, an illiterate is a person ten years of age or more who cannot 
write in any language. Two misuses should be avoided: (1) an immi¬ 
grant who cannot read or write English is not an illiterate if he can read 
and write the language of his fatherland; (2) ignorance and illiteracy 
are not identical. Ignorance is, of course, likely to accompany illiteracy 
in a society that employs extensively the written language as one of its 
means of activity. 

immigration: The act of moving into a country with the intention of set¬ 
tling there. 

impeachment: The formal indictment, voted by a legislative body, charg¬ 
ing a public official with misconduct in office. The officer so charged is 
then tried and may or may not be convicted. In the federal government, 
a majority of the House of Representatives may impeach any civil officer 
of the United States whom it considers unfit for his position, and the 
Senate acts as a court to try the impeachment, 
implied powers: Those derived from the elastic clause in the Constitution 
which gives Congress power “to make all laws which shall be necessary 


GLOSSARY 


495 


and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers” (Art. I, 
Sec. 8). On the basis of these implied powers, Congress has done many 
things which are not expressly provided for in the Constitution. 

income: The wealth produced or acquired from a given source during a 
given period. Money income is to be distinguished from real income. 
Money income is payment, in the form of money, for rent on land, in¬ 
terest on capital, or wages for labor; real income is what such money will 
purchase in services and commodities. Gross income is to be distinguished 
from net income. Gross income is the total amount of wealth produced 
or acquired from a given source during a given period; net income is the 
difference between this gross income and the cost of producing or acquir¬ 
ing it, including in such cost the loss of utility in any production goods 
from their use. 

independent: A voter who does not align himself with any party organiza¬ 
tion. 

indictment: A formal document (called writ), usually voted by a grand 
jury, charging a person with a crime. In some large cities the indictment 
may be made out by the prosecuting attorney without prior action by 
the grand jury. 

industrial revolution: The change from the domestic to the factory system 
of manufacture. In the domestic system the workman owned his tools 
and worked with them by hand in his own home or in a small shop; each 
product received his individual attention, and production was on a small 
scale. (The word manufacture, which entered the English language while 
the domestic system existed, meant originally “to make by hand,” — 
Latin manu, by hand, and facere, to make.) In the factory system, manu¬ 
facture takes place in special buildings for that purpose, and by means 
of complex machines not owned by the workman; one operation of 
the machine may produce hundreds of articles, none of which has re¬ 
ceived the individual attention of the worker. The change to this factory 
system from the older domestic system of manufacture has produced 
so many fundamental consequences in civilized life as to deserve the name 
of revolution; it began in England in the second half of the eighteenth 
century, as the result of a series of mechanical inventions, and has since 
spread to all civilized countries. 

inflation: Undue expansion or increase, as in paper currency, prices, etc. 
In the business cycle, the period of prosperity is sometimes referred to as 
the period of inflation. 

inheritance: See heredity. 

initiative: A provision by which the people may, by petition, have a pro¬ 
posed law placed on the ballot for approval or rejection at a general elec¬ 
tion. Compare referendum. 

injunction: A court order whereby a party is required to do or to refrain 
from doing certain acts specified in the court’s order. As used in recent 


496 


GLOSSARY 


years in labor disputes, an injunction is a court order, secured by the 
employer, restraining strikers from committing certain acts. Violation 
of an injunction is “contempt of court” and is punishable without trial. 
The injunction therefore seems to employers who resort to it a powerful 
weapon in breaking strikes, and to strikers a dangerous weapon against 
them. The phrase “government by injunction” has been coined to 
stigmatize this use of the injunction, 
insolvency: See bankruptcy. 

installment buying: A form of credit used chiefly between retailers and 
their customers. By means of it customers may purchase and receive 
goods without paying more than an initial or “down payment” on the 
goods, the rest of the price being divided into stated portions payable 
at stated intervals. Usually ownership resides in the seller until the pay¬ 
ments have been completed. Installment buying has recently developed 
so extensively that special firms, called finance companies, have been 
organized to handle or finance such transactions, 
interest: The price, per unit of time, that is paid by a borrower for the use 
of what he borrows; specifically, a percentage of money paid for the use 
of money. What this interest represents from an economic point of view 
is variously explained as (1) payment to the capitalist for his abstinence, 
(2) the price paid for the use of productive capital, and (3) the result of 
difference of value of present goods and future goods (see goods, present 
versus future). Interest is figured either as simple or as compound. 
Simple interest is interest paid only on the principal originally lent; 
compound interest is interest on unpaid interest (usually added periodi¬ 
cally to the principal) besides the interest on the principal, 
interlocking directorates: The system by which the same individuals act 
as directors of several corporations at the same time, thus bringing about 
real harmony while maintaining the semblance of competition, 
international law: The body of rules which modern civilized nations regard 
as binding them in their mutual intercourse. 

Interstate Commerce Commission: A federal commission to regulate com¬ 
merce between states; it does so chiefly by controlling the means of 
communication and transportation — railroads, bus lines, water routes, 
gas lines, and telephone and telegraph lines. Since its creation in 1887, 
the Commission has grown constantly in importance and power, 
intestate: Said of (1) a man dying without having disposed of his property 
by a will, or (2) property that has not been disposed of by a will, 
intrastate: Within a state; not to be confused with interstate, which means 
among or between states. 

introvert: A person who considers the world according to the effect which 
it has upon himself; he is inclined to be subjective, thoughtful, and fre¬ 
quently of a shy and retiring disposition. See extrovert. 
investment banks: Sometimes called promotional banks. They specialize 


GLOSSARY 497 

in buying and selling notes, bonds, stocks, mortgages, etc. Well-known 
examples are J. P. Morgan & Co. and Kuhn, Loeb & Co. 

I. Q. (intelligence quotient): The ratio of mental age to chronological age, 
this ratio constituting a measure or quotient of intelligence. The con- 
• cept has wide application in schools and more recently among employees. 
Many tests, such as the Binet-Simon, Stanford-Binet, etc., have been 
constructed to measure intelligence. 

I. W. W. (Industrial Workers of the World): A group of American syndi¬ 
calists, though they are not affiliated with French syndicalists. See 
syndicalism. 

jurisdiction: The power of a court to try a case. The court in which a case 
is first tried has original jurisdiction. Some courts have original jurisdic¬ 
tion in certain kinds of cases; thus the Supreme Court has original 
jurisdiction in cases involving foreign ambassadors. Courts which try 
appeals from the decisions of lower courts have appellate jurisdiction. 
When a case may be tried in either of two courts, the courts have con¬ 
current jurisdiction; thus in most states a violation of the prohibition 
laws may be punished either by the state courts or by the federal courts, 
they having concurrent jurisdiction. 

jury: A body of men, chosen according to law, to assist in the enforcement 
of law by inquiring into matters of fact and by rendering a verdict on the 
evidence. A grand jury examines witnesses and votes indictments when 
preliminary evidence thus gained seems to j ustify trial. A petit jury hears 
the evidence in open court and renders a verdict. See indictment. 
justice of the peace: The presiding officer of a court which has jurisdiction 
over misdemeanors and small suits within a township or other subdivision 
of a county or within the ward of a city, 
labor: (1) Work. In economics, human energy exerted for the purpose of 
acquiring economic goods. (2) The opposite of capital and capitalism, q. v. 
labor union: An association of working people organized to protect their 
rights and privileges as laborers. Modem trade unions began to be 
formed in England early in the nineteenth century. Their aims fall 
mainly under three classes: (1) better wages, (2) shorter working hours, 
and (3) improved working conditions. Their methods of achieving these 
aims fall mainly into five classes: (1) collective bargaining, (2) the strike, 
(3) the boycott, (4) picketing, (5) political action, 
laissez-faire: The policy of governmental non-interference in economic 
affairs. One of the favorite doctrines of earlier economists, as, for ex¬ 
ample, Adam Smith (1723-1790) and David Ricardo (1772-1823). 
land: All the materials and forces of nature. In economics, therefore, 
land is synonymous with nature and includes such things as maple sap, 
climate, oceans, lakes, rivers, rain, birds, animals, fish, and the surface 
that supports us — in short, every natural thing in or on the earth or 
immediately around it, and every force found in nature. 



498 


GLOSSARY 


larceny: Legal term for theft. Petty larceny is the theft of property of 
small value, usually less than twentj-five dollars. Grand larceny is the 
theft of property of greater value. 

law: In the legal sense, a law is a formal rule prescribed by the recognized 
authorities of the state. Those rules which have been established by 
successive court decisions are collectively called common law. Those 
rules which are derived from written constitutions are called constitutional 
law; they are usually applicable to the government rather than to the 
individual. Those rules concerning suits involving property which have 
been decided by judicial decrees are called equity law. Those rules which 
are specifically stated in the enactments by state legislatures and Con¬ 
gress constitute statute law. Contrast with international law. 
legal tender: That money which when tendered or offered constitutes the 
legal discharge of a financial obligation, 
legation: The official residence or building in a foreign country of a diplo¬ 
matic representative from another country, 
legislative calendar: A time schedule agreed upon by the members of a 
legislative body for the consideration of business before it; as, approval 
of executive appointments and debate of proposed measures, 
liabilities: One’s financial obligations collectively; opposed to assets, q. v. 

In the legal sense, accountability before the law. 
libel: Deliberate publishing of a defamatory statement which tends to 
expose another to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule. It is sometimes 
a crime but at other times only ground for a civil action. See 
slander. 

liberal: A person who favors greater freedom in political, social, and re¬ 
ligious matters. With regard to social institutions and the forms of 
government, he tends to approve change in proportion as it increases 
human freedom, and to disapprove proposed changes in proportion as 
they would presumably destroy or restrict human freedom. Contrast 
radical, reactionary, and conservative. 

license: An official permit legally entitling the holder to perform a certain 
act, as, for example, to sell cigarettes, to run an automobile, or to marry, 
loan shark: One who charges exorbitant interest rates on small loans, 
lobbyists: Persons who make it their business to try to influence the votes 
of members of a legislative body. Lobbying is a general term to cover 
the practices of such persons. 

local option: Generally, the right of legislating locally. Specifically, the 
term has been most frequently used in the United States with either of 
two meanings: (1) the right of the members of a given locality (county, 
city, or town) to determine for themselves (by popular ballot or by other 
legal means of enactment) whether or not a particular state law shall 
take effect in that locality; (2) the right of a given locality to determine 
for itself whether or not the sale of alcoholic beverages shall be legal. 


GLOSSARY 499 

lockout: The act of withholding employment from a body of employees 
as a means of bringing them to accept the employers’ terms, 
log rolling: The practice of members of legislative bodies of mutually sup¬ 
porting the pet measures of others in return for support of their own 
pet measures. 

lynching: The act of a mob in inflicting punishment, especially death, 
without the forms of law. 

machine: In politics, a party organization so well organized that it func¬ 
tions as a relatively smooth and effective mechanism to carry out the 
wishes of one or more leaders, in disregard of the individual wishes of 
those constituting the machine or opposing it. 

Magna Carta: The Great Charter which the English barons forced King 
John to sign at Runnymede in 1215. It guaranteed the barons certain 
rights in regard to taxation and representation. Its great importance 
lies in the construction which later ages placed upon it as the basis for 
subsequent progress in attaining civil and political rights for all classes 
of people. See Bill of Rights. 

majority: More than half of any voting group; the others constitute the 
minority. Distinguish from plurality, q. v. 
mandamus: A court order requiring an inferior court or an officer of the 
government to perform a legal duty. 

mandate: The order given by the League of Nations or a group of allies 
to another country to assume control of some backward area. The word 
mandate is also used to designate the area so controlled, 
manslaughter: The unpremeditated killing of a human being. It may be 
voluntary, as in a sudden heat of passion, or involuntary, as in the com¬ 
mission of some lawful act without due caution. It is ordinarily punish¬ 
able by a shorter term of imprisonment than that for murder, q. v. 
mark and reprisal: The preying upon enemy commerce by authority of a 
government permit. 

marketing: One of the steps in the exchange of goods, consisting of buying 
and selling. A market is a place where such exchange occurs, as money 
market, stock market, grain market, or hog market, 
martial law: The application of military law to civilians. It is character¬ 
ized by its despotic character and the suspension of many ordinary rights, 
such as trial by jury and freedom of press. 

Marxian: Of or pertaining to Karl Marx (1818-1883) or the socialist 
theories held by him. See socialism. 

matriarchy: A period in which woman was, supposedly, the head of the 
family, lineal descent being reckoned through her. 
medium of exchange: Any means whereby the ownership of goods is 
secured without exchanging one article for another. See exchange. 
melting pot: A term used to describe the fusion of races or groups by social 
interaction. Applied particularly to the United States as a place for 


500 


GLOSSARY 


the fusion, with one another and with native-born Americans, of 
immigrants. 

Mendel’s law: A principle of heredity worked out by Gregor J. Mendel 
(Austrian monk, 1822-1884) by means of experiments in the breeding of 
peas. According to this law, opposing characteristics (called unit-char¬ 
acters) in the male and female parents (as tallness in one, shortness in 
the other) often do not blend in the offspring; instead, the unit-char¬ 
acters (tallness and shortness) remain distinct from each other in the 
germ cell of the offspring, even though they may not appear in his body, 
and reappear in future generations according to the lawxif probability 
and chance. Thus tallness may be passed on by parents who are them¬ 
selves short, because in their germ plasm resides the unit-character of 
tallness. The same principle applies to color, hairiness, etc. If the unit- 
character is in the germ cell of a parent but does not show in his own body, 
the unit-character is called recessive; if it appears, it is dominant. See 
the diagram in the text. The sociological importance of this law is two¬ 
fold : (1) apparently good strains of people may have bad strains in them, 
and vice versa; (2) human inheritance is so complex that any rigorous 
application to society of eugenic theories may be unwise. See germ cell. 
merger: See combination. 

middleman: Any dealer between the producer and the consumer who makes 
it his business to facilitate the exchange of goods. Examples: the advertis¬ 
ing man whose description of shoes brings them to the notice of a buying 
public; the jobber who buys large quantities of shoes from the wholesaler 
and sells them to the retailer in lots of such size as the retailer needs, 
migration: The whole process of moving from one country into another. 
Among primitive peoples, the periodical passage from one region or climate 
to another for the purpose of grazing, hunting, etc. 
military law: The rules and regulations applicable to the members of the 
army and navy. Distinguish from martial law, q. v. 
minimum wage law: A law which provides that in certain occupations 
laborers may not be paid less than a specified wage, 
misdemeanor: See crime. 

money: Any medium of exchange (see medium of exchange)’, however, 
money in our society is usually one of two things: (1) metal (gold, silver, 
or copper) coined or stamped, and issued by some recognized authority 
like the government; (2) currency, being a written or stamped promise 
or paper certificate, such as a bank note or a government note, which 
passes currently from hand to hand as a means of payment. Govern¬ 
ment notes issued without security other than the general credit of the 
government are called fiat money. The functions of money are threefold: 
(1) a medium of exchange for commodities and services, (2) a unit by 
which all wealth and services are measured and totaled, (3) a measure 
or standard of deferred payments. The characteristics of good money are 


GLOSSARY 


501 


seven: (1) desirability, (2) portability, that is, great value in small bulk, 
(3) durability, (4) uniform quality, (5) divisibility, (6) stability of value, 
and (7) distinctive character. Since gold most successfully combines 
all these characteristics, it is the most widely used of all the kinds of 
money. Money which is extremely deficient in any of these character¬ 
istics, especially the sixth, is called poor money. See Gresham's Law. 
monogamy: The custom of having not more than one mate (husband or 
wife) at the same time. Opposed to polygamy, q. v. 
monopoly: Sufficient control of the supply of, or demand for, any good or 
service to enable one to regulate its price. The monopoly may therefore 
be either by the seller or the buyer. Monopolies are variously named, 
according to the origin of the monopoly. A legal monopoly is one created 
by legal enactment, as in the case of patents or copyrights and some 
public utilities with exclusive franchises. When the government owns a 
legally created monopoly, it is called a public monopoly, as is the United 
States postal service. A natural monopoly is one that exists “in the 
nature of things.” Thus a great singer has a natural monopoly in his 
voice and the owners of the diamond industry of South Africa have a 
natural monopoly; no industry by man can create more of these, and 
their owners have been given a monopoly by nature. Capitalistic 
monopoly, commonly called a trust, is one maintained by control of a 
large amount of capital, by which, in one way or another, the trust is 
able to prevent competition. See competition, pooling, and trust. 
moratorium: A period during which a debtor has a legal right to delay 
meeting an obligation that has fallen due. Applicable to individuals 
and states. The widest application yet made of it was that of 1931 to 
all payments by European countries on intergovernmental debts, repa¬ 
rations, and relief debts, 
mortgage: See security. 

murder: The crime of intentionally killing a human being. It may or may 
not be premeditated. Murder in the first degree is the unlawful, inten¬ 
tional, premeditated killing of a human being, or the killing of a human 
being incidental to the commission of a grave crime such as arson or 
burglary. Murder in the second degree generally means unlawful, inten¬ 
tional killing without premeditation and not incidental to the commission 
of a grave crime. Punishment for murder varies from the death penalty 
to a short term of imprisonment, depending upon the law of the state 
and the circumstances. 

nation: Sometimes used as synonymous with state, although historically 
it refers to a group of people with common culture (as evidenced in race, 
language, and aspirations). Nationality is the chief basis for the forma¬ 
tion of a country or state, q. v. 

natural boundaries: Geographic features which mark off, sometimes 
isolate, one region from another; the most prominent are great rivers 


502 


GLOSSARY 


and lakes, mountain ranges, and the sea. Natural boundaries are usually 
distinguished from political boundaries, which are determined by polit¬ 
ical action (treaties, conferences, conquest) and may or may not coincide 
with natural boundaries. 

natural resources: Broadly, the various products and forces of nature 
which man can use in the satisfaction of his wants. Strictly, certain free 
gifts of nature which furnish chiefly the raw materials for many indus¬ 
tries, as, (1) minerals: coal, petroleum, natural gas, metals, (2) forest 
and plant life, (3) wild fowl and animals, and (4) water power: lakes, 
rivers, waterfalls. 

naturalization: In the United States, the act of an alien’s becoming a citizen. 
The process is divided into two steps, the declaration of intention, usually 
called “first papers,” and the certification for citizenship by an examin¬ 
ing court, usually called “second papers,” which may not be applied 
for until after five years’ continuous residence in the United States. 

nomination: Naming a candidate for an elective office by any of the follow¬ 
ing methods. (1) By self-announcement, an individual simply declaring 
himself a candidate. (2) By petition, a required number of voters signing 
a petition which entitles the candidate to have his name printed on the 
ballot. (3) By convention, a meeting of voters of a particular party or 
their delegates; the term convention is frequently applied only to a con¬ 
vention of delegates. The convention selects the candidates of that 
party. (4) By primary, which is a regularly constituted election, par¬ 
ticipated in by the members of the respective parties. The men so elected 
become the candidates in the final elections. Some states have “open 
primaries,” in which all voters choose the party ballot that they want. 
Other states have “closed primaries,” in which an attempt is made 
to restrict the voter’s choice to the ticket which he has previously 
voted. 

non-partisan: Freedom from attachment to a political party. Often ap¬ 
plied to a ballot used in local elections on which candidates are listed 
merely by name and without party designation — the non-partisan 
ballot. 

note: A paper bearing written acknowledgement of a debt and promise to 

Pay- 

occupational diseases: Diseases resulting from the special conditions under 
which certain occupations or trades must be pursued. Thus tuberculosis 
is an occupational disease when it results from working in an atmosphere 
laden with the dusts and gases from chemicals; workers in lead or its 
compounds frequently suffer local muscular paralysis or anaemia from 
the absorption of lead into the system during working hours. 

oligarchy: A form of government in which the power is in the hands of a 
few; sometimes facetiously used in America to designate political control 
by a machine or ring, q. v. 


GLOSSARY 503 

open shop: One in which both union and non-union workers may be em¬ 
ployed. 

ordinance: Usually, in the United States, a law passed by local legislative 
bodies, such as a city council or board of aldermen. 

orphan’s court: A term applied in some states to a probate court when it 
handles the estate of an orphan. 

panic: (1) Widespread apprehension concerning financial affairs. (2) The 
condition of economic affairs accompanying such apprehension. 

pardon: Restoration to a criminal, by an executive officer, of his com¬ 
plete civil and political rights. Contrast with commutation, parole, and 
probation. 

parole: Release, by court or executive order, of a sentenced person from 
the execution of the sentence. Release sometimes takes place immedi¬ 
ately after sentence, and sometimes after the prisoner has served a part 
of his term. Such parole lasts conditionally for the term of the sentence, 
and the prisoner may be returned to complete his sentence if he again 
falls into criminal ways. Distinguish from probation ( q . v.) and pardon 
(q. v.). 

partnership: A voluntary association of two or more individuals for the 
performance of a specific or a general duty. For example, A and B own 
a grocery store together. 

par value: Nominal value or face value; that is, the value stated on the 
face of stocks or other paper. 

pathology: A science treating of diseases. In sociology, pathology is con¬ 
cerned primarily with the problems of social maladjustment, such as 
crime, poverty, feeble-mindedness, etc. 

pauper: A person without means of food, shelter, and clothing except such 
as are derived from charity, especially from public poor funds. Pauper¬ 
ism refers either to this state or to paupers collectively, especially as they 
constitute a social problem. 

penology: That branch of criminology which deals with the deterrent, 
punitive, and reformatory treatment of criminals. 

perjury: The crime of telling under oath a deliberate falsehood. 

personal credit: The most common form, being the power of an individual 
to secure goods or services in the present for his mere promise (written 
or unwritten) to pay. 

philanthropy: The practice of bestowing large sums of money for social 
betterment. 

picketing: A method whereby organized laborers enforce their demands 
upon an employer by posting watchers at the approaches to a place of 
employment affected by labor trouble in order to persuade those 
who work there to quit. Picketing is itself peaceful but may lead to 
violence. 

plaintiff: One who prosecutes a case in court. In civil cases this is usually 


504 


GLOSSARY 


an individual who feels that he has been wronged. In criminal cases 
the state is the plaintiff. 

plurality: In voting, mere excess of votes for one candidate or measure 
over those for another candidate or measure; this plurality need not be 
a majority of all the votes cast. 

poll tax: See capitation tax. 

polyandry: The possession by a woman of more than one husband at the 
same time. 

polygamy: The possession of more than one mate at the same time. The 
general term which includes both polygyny and polyandry, q. v. 

polygyny: The state of having more than one wife at the same time. 

pooling: The oldest and most common method of effecting unity among 
competing producers, consisting of an agreement between competitors 
to maintain prices or to divide territory or earnings among themselves 
on the basis of size and power. 

population, Malthusian theories of: A set of theories set forth by an 
Englishman, the Rev. T. R. Malthus (1766-1834). Malthus held: 
(1) Population tends to increase faster than the means of subsistence 
can be made to do. Malthus tried to work out the ratio as follows: 
while population increases approximately in a geometrical ratio, the 
means of subsistence increase in an arithmetical ratio only. (2) This in¬ 
crease of population is checked by two means: positive (war, famine, 
disease, vice, and poverty), and negative or artificial (late marriage, 
celibacy, control of birth rate). (3) Poverty is the result of this increase 
of population, as it creates a surplus of workers who keep wages down. 
Malthus’s Essay on Population, first published in 1798, is famous and has 
gone through numerous editions. 

pork-barrel appropriations: A term used to stigmatize unnecessary or un¬ 
desirable appropriations for the execution of local projects. Such appro¬ 
priations are usually the result of log rolling, q. v. 

postal money order: A form of draft. An order to pay, issued by the post¬ 
master in one city on the postmaster in another city. 

price: A measure, in terms of money, of the value of a good. The market 
price of a good is the price at which it is exchanged in the market from day 
to day, this price being determined by the forces of supply and demand. 
The normal price is the price which will cover the cost of production plus 
a reasonable profit. Normal price is sometimes called normal value; 
actually, the normal price is the indicator or measure of the normal 
value. See value. 

privileges and rights: See rights and privileges. 

probation: The word probate means prove (from Latin proba, proof, and 
probare, to prove). Probation is the release, by court order, of a person 
charged with a crime (not sentenced) to a probation officer, to whom he 
must make satisfactory report from time to time; when he has proved 


GLOSSARY 


505 


himself, he is released from such surveillance. This method of handling 
crimes is most frequently used by judges with first offenders, juvenile 
offenders, and slight offenders. The federal government and all states 
except Wyoming have legal provisions for the practice of probation. 

procedure: The mode of beginning and conducting litigation. Civil 
procedure is the method of handling in the courts cases other than cri¬ 
minal — usually, cases involving property. Criminal procedure is the 
method of handling cases in which a person (defendant) is accused of 
crime. 

production: Not merely the making of material objects, but the creation 
of goods capable of satisfying human wants, or making nature’s gifts 
useful to man by altering their form and place. See good, want, and 
consumption. 

profit sharing: A principle of distributing income whereby the workmen in 
an enterprise would receive, in addition to their regular wages, a share in 
the “profits” ( q . v.) which would ordinarily go to the enterpreneur. 
Profit sharing should not be identified with cooperation, which gives the 
workmen a share in the^ management or control of the business, whereas 
profit sharing does not. 

profits: In general, the excess of income over expenditure; or, any benefit 
or advantage from the management, use, or sale of property, from carry¬ 
ing on a process of production, or from conducting a business. Specif¬ 
ically, the share of the employing classes in the distribution of income, 
as distinguished from wages for the laboring classes and rent for the land¬ 
owning classes. Thus conceived, profits represent a reward of the em¬ 
ployer (or entrepreneur) for his skill and risk, as distinguished from the 
interest that rewards the capitalist for his saving. Gross profits are the 
total receipts minus usual, direct expenditures; net profits are the total 
receipts minus all expenses whatsoever, including insurance, replace¬ 
ment, etc. 

progressive: A term somewhat synonymous with liberal (q. v.), designating 
a person who desires to see improvements in our political, social, and 
economic life. Also, for a brief period, the name of a party. 

prohibition: The act of forbidding. In the United States it usually refers 
to the act of forbidding by law the manufacture and sale of alcoholic 
drinks. The Prohibition Party, organized in 1872, the Women’s Chris¬ 
tian Temperance Union, organized in 1874, and the Anti-Saloon League, 
organized in 1893, waged a diligent campaign against the use of alcoholic 
drinks. By local option {q. v.) saloons were outlawed in villages, cities, 
counties, and states. In 1920 the Eighteenth Amendment, forbidding 
the manufacture and sale of such drinks, was adopted. Agitation for 
the repeal of the amendment has begun, and prohibition appears to be 
still an important question. 

proletariat: In Roman times the word designated the lowest and poorest 


506 


GLOSSARY 


class in a community. It has come to mean workers who own no capital 
goods and are entirely dependent upon wages, 
promissory note : A record of a loan, in the form of a written promise to 
pay, signed by the borrower. Promissory notes vary from a simple, 
scrawling written promise to an elaborately printed bond, q.v. A promis¬ 
sory note will be payable either “on demand,” or at a definite time. The 
note will be either “unsecured” (that is, not accompanied by any more 
security than the borrower’s signature) or “secured.” See security. 
property: The exclusive right, guaranteed by law, to possess, enjoy, and 
dispose of a thing. Ownership. In a narrow sense, exclusive ownership — 
as ownership of a piece of land, a horse, a book; in a broad sense, any 
valuable right — as patents, copyrights, 
property right: The right to services or benefits of wealth. Example: a 
person owns a house; he has the right to the services of that house, 
public debt : The amount owed by a government. The nation, the states, 
and cities in general have public debts. The money is owed to those who 
have purchased government bonds. The interest on these bonds and 
the partial payments to retire the principal are paid by means of taxation, 
public lands : Those areas owned by either the national government or the 
states which are open to homesteading or for sale, 
public utility or utilities : A term used to designate certain business enter¬ 
prises in which the public is regarded as having a special interest because 
the enterprises have a monopoly of an economic good upon which every 
one is vitally dependent. Examples: railroads, gas, telephones, water, 
and electricity. The public interest in such enterprises may take the 
form of strict regulation of them or of public ownership, 
qualification: A term customarily used to designate the requirements for 
holding an office. 

quasi- : As if, as though, as it were, in a manner, in a certain sense or degree. 
Often added to another term to designate that the term is truly applied 
only to a limited degree. Thus to call a school-board a quasi-public 
body means that it is only in part a public body. Compare quasi-legal, 
quasi-contract, quasi-deposit, and quasi-rent, 
quorum: The number of members of an organization which must be 
present before it can transact any official business, 
race suicide : Destruction of the race as a consequence of a deliberately 
decreased birth rate. 

radical: The word radical means root. A radical person is therefore one 
who believes in making radical or fundamental changes in social institu¬ 
tions or forms of government. He is likely to be extreme, and the word 
radical has come, in common parlance, to mean extremist. Bolshevists, 
communists, socialists, and anarchists are frequently called radicals. 
Contrast with conservative and reactionary. 
reactionary: A person who believes in a return toward _ a former political 


GLOSSARY 507 

or social condition, policy, or form of government. Contrast with 
conservative and radical. 

reading, of bills : A phrase used to designate any of the three stages through 
which a bill goes in the process of becoming a law, namely, introduction, 
engrossment ( q. v.), and final consideration. The term originates from 
the fact that each bill was formerly actually read upon those occasions. 

real estate : Property in houses and land. 

recall : A mode of depriving an elective officer of his office by popular vote, 
as the recall of a mayor. 

referendum: A device by which a measure passed by a legislative assembly 
may be referred to the people for approval or rejection. Compare initi¬ 
ative. 

regulation: The supervision of business by the government; also, the rules 
or orders issued by authority, as army regulations or the regulations of 
commissions or boards. 

rent: Payment for the use of an article of wealth. 

reprieve : An executive order which postpones the execution of a sentence. 
To be distinguished from commutation (q. v.), which lessens the punish¬ 
ment. 

revenue : The income of taxes, rent, etc. which a government collects for 
public use. 

reversion : A return toward some ancestral type or trait. See atavism. 

responsibility: Financial, legal, or political accountability. Political re¬ 
sponsibility is the condition in which an officer is held accountable for 
his conduct in office. In the United States such responsibility is indirect, 
for the officer can be held responsible only at the time of his election, ex¬ 
cept in extreme cases which involve impeachment or criminal prosecu¬ 
tion. 

rights and privileges: A right is that to which one has a just claim accord¬ 
ing to law; a privilege is that which is granted as a special or peculiar 
favor. Thus every one has a right to protection, but it is a privilege to 
be allowed to vote. 

ring: A small group of men in practical control of a party organization or 
exercising despotic control of some branch of the government, as a city 
hall ring. 

risk: The danger of losing what is invested. 

robbery: The crime of taking property from the person or immediate 
presence of the victim, accomplished by force or fear. 

rural : Of or pertaining to the country as distinguished from the town or 
city. Rural problems are the problems of life in rural or country districts. 
Other uses of the word likely to be met in the social studies are rural 
customs, rural life, rural population, rural needs, rural schools. The con¬ 
trasting term is urban, q. v. 

rural credit: Any form of credit specially created for farmers. The chief 


508 


GLOSSARY 


forms are those provided by the Federal Farm Loan Act of 1916 (some¬ 
times called the Rural Credits Act) and the Agricultural Credits Act of 
1922. See cooperation. 

sabotage : Destruction or intentional damaging of an employer’s property 
by workmen, usually associated with labor troubles. The act is illegal, 
savings banks: Banks that accept small deposits for long terms at low 
rates of interest. Through postoffices the government maintains savings 
banks, called postal savings banks. 

secret service: An investigative service under the department of justice 
maintained for the purpose of ferreting out various kinds of crimes. The 
service also provides protection for the President and other high officials, 
security: Something given or pledged to make the payment of a debt 
more certain than the mere signature of the borrower. Security is (1) by 
endorsement of one or more persons besides the borrower, (2) by mortgage, 
and (3) by collateral. The additional endorsements add to the security 
of the loan since all are responsible for its payment. A mortgage is a 
document transferring ownership (not possession) conditionally. If the 
owner of the property carries out the conditions, the mortgage will be 
canceled. If the owner fails to carry out the conditions, the holder of 
the mortgage can seize the property. A mortgage is thus security be¬ 
cause it guarantees the payment of the debt. Collateral is paper evidence 
of wealth (stocks, bonds, notes, and drafts) used as security for a note, 
segregation: A separation of groups; often in the sense of assigning certain 
areas to certain classes or kinds of people, 
senatorial courtesy : The custom in accordance with which senators confirm 
appointments recommended by other senators. It is most apparent 
when senators refuse to confirm an appointment because of the objection 
of the senator from the state in which the appointment is to take place, 
separation of powers : See checks and balances. 

settlement house : An institution, found usually in larger cities, for assisting 
less fortunate individuals, frequently children, 
short selling : A sale of securities or commodities which the seller does not 
possess or has not contracted for at the time of sale. See bull and bear. 
single tax : Broadly, a tax that raises all the public revenue by the taxation 
of a single class of objects. More specifically, a policy of taxation under 
which all the public revenue would be raised by giving the government, 
rather than the land-owner, the economic rent from land. When people 
now speak of single tax, they usually have this theory in mind. The 
theory is best known through Henry George’s book, Progress and 
Poverty. 

sinking fund : A sum of money periodically set aside, usually by a corpora¬ 
tion, to pay off a debt when it falls due. 
slander: A report maliciously uttered and tending to injure the reputation 
of another. See libel. 


GLOSSARY 509 

social cohesion: That quality existing among the individuals of a group 
which causes them to feel a mutual interdependence. 

social insurance: Insurance by the government, including health, accident, 
old age, and unemployment insurance. Certain kinds of social insurance 
are in force in Germany and England and to a lesser extent in the United 
States. 

social mind: A phrase used to describe the set of ideas and sentiments in a 
group that is something more than the sum of those held by the indi¬ 
viduals composing the group. Some hold that the social mind is a sepa¬ 
rate and independent entity; others believe that it is merely the sum total 
of the interrelations of the individuals. The term social mind is similar 
in meaning to public opinion, public will, the moral sense of the com¬ 
munity, the collective mind, and mob mind. 

social service: A relatively new profession, aiming to apply practically the 
social sciences, as medicine, surgery, and dentistry apply the physical 
and biological sciences. The function of this profession is to bring special¬ 
ized knowledge to the solution of social problems, rather than mere piety 
and sympathy, though these may be important parts of the social 
worker’s activities. His training includes study of the data that institu¬ 
tions of social research have accumulated on the interests, desires, cus¬ 
toms, and habits of men in communities, in skilling himself in the collec¬ 
tion and interpretation of such data, and in learning different forms of 
practical activity, such as employment service, nursing, dancing, and 
physical education. His activities as a social worker concern not only 
charity, but also child welfare, settlement work, folk dancing, employ¬ 
ment bureaus, immigrant aid, Americanization classes, and other social¬ 
izing activities which are helpful in a modern community but which have 
nothing to do with alms. 

socialism: From the economic point of view, a system of organizing the 
economic activity of society. It is founded on the assumption that 
wealth is the creation of labor; therefore, employers, middlemen, entre¬ 
preneurs, and capitalists constitute a class of parasites who rob the 
laborers of the fruits of industry. The socialistic system is designed to 
prevent this injustice by preventing the existence of such classes. This 
change is to be brought about by replacing private ownership and manage¬ 
ment of the instruments of production and distribution with collective 
ownership and management. Necessarily the government will be the 
means of such collective ownership and management because it is the 
one agent of society as a whole. Note that cooperation in production is 
not socialism, for in such cooperation the workmen merely become their 
own capitalists and managers and aim to achieve private profits at the 
expense of others in the state. In the second place, note that socialism 
does not necessarily abolish all private property (such as consumption 
goods like food and clothing), but only private ownership of production 


510 


GLOSSARY 


goods {q. v.). Socialism should be distinguished from communism, 
anarchism, bolshevism, sovietism, and the I. W. W., all of which may be 
found in the glossary. See also value, labor theory of; and value, theory of 
surplus, two of the fundamental theories of socialism, 
society: A group of individuals united by some form of common interest 
and having some organization. 

sociology: The study of the inter-relations of human beings as constituent 
members of a group. It deals with the origin, form, development, and 
functions of human institutions. It is concerned with the bonds of asso¬ 
ciation rather than with the individuals as such, 
soldier’s bonus: A grant of land or money given to veterans. The United 
States gave a bonus to the soldiers of the Revolution, the Civil War, 
and the Great War. The bonus given after the Great War was in the 
form of an insurance policy. Some people regard the provisions by which 
veterans can borrow money from the government as essentially a form 
of the bonus, 
solvent: See bankruptcy. 

soviet: A council, especially the councils of Russian soldiers and workmen 
that created the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics in 1917. The present 
Russian government is based upon a system of such soviets, 
speculation: The purchase of property (including stocks, etc.) with a view 
to reselling at a higher price. The speculator often takes great risks in 
the hope of making great profits. 

split ticket and straight ticket: The voter who chooses all of his candidates 
from one party votes a straight ticket. One who chooses some candidates 
from one party and some from another votes a split ticket. 
spoils system: The practice of rewarding political supporters by appointing 
them or their friends to office; this usually involves the removal of those 
already filling such offices. 

stabilization: The restoration of a person, an industry, money, etc. to its 
normal condition. 

standard of living: Variously used to indicate the minimum of economic 
goods which an individual, a community, or a class insist upon having. 
Such a standard can be conceived and expressed only comparatively. 
Therefore, the standard of living is sometimes said to be the irreducible 
minimum of economic goods which individuals insist upon having before 
undertaking marriage. Sometimes it is used to indicate the amount of 
goods on which a family can live in reasonable health and comfort, 
state: An independent political entity with complete sovereignty. As 
used in the United States, the term refers to one of the forty-eight 
component States which together constitute the United States. See 
nation. 

statistics: Used (1) sometimes of mere tabulations of figures on population, 
goods, taxes, etc. and (2) sometimes to designate the science of treating 


GLOSSARY 


511 


knowledge in numerical terms. The science of statistics bases its con¬ 
clusions upon numerical conceptions of the facts and states them in 
numerical terms. This science is becoming exceedingly important as 
applied to education, economics, sociology, and various aspects of 
government. 

stock: A form of contract between an owner and a corporation. Each 
certificate of stock represents a share in the ownership. Preferred stock 
bears a specified rate of interest; whereas common stock bears such inter¬ 
est as the profits enable the corporation to pay. Preferred stocks are 
usually considered as a safer investment, but common stocks may pay a 
much higher rate of interest. Thus the owner of common stock assumes 
a greater risk in the hope of a greater profit. The amount of stock in 
excess of assets is called watered stock. 
strike: One of the methods whereby organized labor enforces upon em¬ 
ployers its demands. It consists of a united refusal to work in order to 
obtain a change in the conditions of employment. Strikes may or may 
not involve boycott and picketing. 

stump: To engage in a speaking tour of the nation, state, or district as 
part of a campaign. 

sumptuary laws : Those which deal with prohibitions or regulations on the 
habits of individuals. Example: Sunday closing laws, 
supply and demand, law of : A term used to describe the interaction of two 
forces in determining price: (1) scarcity leads to a demand greater than 
the supply, with a resulting willingness to pay a higher price; (2) an 
increased supply leads to a willingness on the part of the seller to accept 
a lower price in order to dispose of his goods. See demand. 
sweating system: A term of reproach to indicate a mode of treating em¬ 
ployees founded upon taking advantage of their necessities to drive them 
to the limit of their powers of endurance for the lowest possible wage. 
The term has been used chiefly of the employment, usually through a 
sub-contractor, of poorly skilled workers on piecework in indoor manu¬ 
facturing, as of cheap clothing. The workrooms, called sweatshops, 
were unsanitary, child labor was frequently employed, and often the 
work was parceled out to be done in tenements, 
syndicalism: A militant form of socialism, originating in France late in the 
nineteenth century and since then appearing in England and the United 
States. Syndicalism was designed to secure the aims of socialism by 
giving up reliance upon political action and relying instead upon so- 
called direct action by the workers in the following way: (1) All workers 
would be organized in unions ( syndicats ); (2) each of these unions would 
include all the laborers (skilled and unskilled) in a given trade, such as 
building or transportation; (3) these unions would compel the govern¬ 
ment to do as they wished by resorting to direct action — namely, 
strikes, sabotage, or poor work — until their wishes were granted. In 


512 


GLOSSARY 


the United States the I. W. W., though not affiliated with the French 
Syndicalists, represent the principles of syndicalism, 
table (verb): To postpone action on a motion. 

tariff: A charge on imports. Tariffs are levied for two purposes: revenue 
and protection. A revenue tariff is designed to raise money for the govern¬ 
ment; consequently, the rates are usually low enough to encourage im¬ 
porting. A protective tariff is designed to protect and promote domestic 
industries; consequently, the rates are usually high enough to discourage 
importing. A specific tariff is so much per unit (as 2^ a pound); an 
ad valorem tariff is levied according to value (as 20% of a $10. suit). See 
free trade. 

tax: A compulsory contribution exacted by the government from indi¬ 
viduals or organizations for the purpose of defraying expenses incurred 
for the common welfare. Taxes are direct or indirect. Direct taxes are 
poll tax, property tax, income tax, inheritance tax, corporation tax, and 
gift tax. Indirect taxes are the excise (internal revenue) and the tariff. 
Excise tax is levied on goods within the country; the tariff is levied on 
goods coming into the country; the consumer pays both indirectly. 
(See tariff.) A progressive tax is one that rises in percentage as the value 
to be taxed increases. Example, 1% may be charged on incomes of less 
than $5,000, whereas 20% may be charged on incomes of $50,000. 
tenancy : The practice of holding and using property, such as houses and 
land, without ownership. The increasing tenancy on farms and renting 
in cities are outstanding examples. 

tenure of office: The holding of office; usually used with reference to the 
length of the term of office. 

theft : The illegal taking and removing of personal property with the intent 
of depriving the owner; in some states any unlawful acquisition of 
property is theft. The usual legal term is larceny, q. v. 
thrift: The prudent utilization of one’s income, especially by saving and 
by cautious spending. Thrift has also a moral value in the development 
of character. For this reason schools deliberately encourage thrift by 
cooperating with savings banks in cultivating habits of thrift, 
trade acceptance : An order from a seller to a buyer ordering him to pay a 
certain sum at a definite time. See bill of exchange. 
trade mark: A distinctive word, emblem, symbol, or device used on goods 
to identify the manufacturer or seller. A trade mark is a common law 
property right; usually it is registered with the United States Patent 
Office. 

transportation: One phase of the distribution of goods, which consists of 
conveying them by trains, trucks, etc. to those who have exerted a 
demand therefor. Transportation makes possible an extension of the 
principle of division of labor and wholesale production, 
traveler’s check: A form of draft designed to avoid the risk of carrying 


GLOSSARY 


513 


money. These drafts or checks are purchased from a bank or express 
company by the payment of the face value of the check. The purchaser 
or traveler signs his name at one place on the check at the time he pur¬ 
chases; when he wishes to cash the check, he identifies himself by signing 
his name at another place on the check, in the presence of the one who is 
cashing it. 

treason: A crime; defined for the United States by the Constitution as 
consisting “only in levying war against them or in adhering to their 
enemies, giving them aid and comfort” (Art. 3, Sec. 3). 
trust: A business organization or combination of a number of firms operat¬ 
ing under an agreement that creates a “trust,” whence the name, 
trust company: So called because property is entrusted to it for care and 
management; not to be confused with monopolistic industries popularly 
and disapprovingly called “trusts.” A trust company is any corpora¬ 
tion formed for the purpose of acting as trustees of estates, as guardians 
of minors and incompetents, and as custodians of property held in trust. 
The trust company is called the trustee; the person engaging its services 
is called the trustor; if the trust is administered for a third party, some¬ 
one other than the trustor, the third party is the beneficiary; the estate 
to be administered is called a trust estate; the agreement between the 
trustee and the trustor is called a trust agreement. Many trust companies 
act also as commercial banks. 

unearned increment: An increment or increase in the value of land or 
other property due to no labor or expenditure on the part of the owner, 
but to circumstances which cause an increased demand for it. 
unfair list: A list of employers said to be unfair to labor, used by labor 
groups to try to induce people not to deal with such employers. It is a 
form of boycott, and has been declared illegal. The fair list, containing 
a list of employers who are said to be fair to labor is an indirect, but 
legal, means of achieving the same end as the unfair list, 
urban: Of or pertaining to a city or town. Urban problems are therefore 
problems of city life; other uses of the word likely to be met in the social 
studies are urban customs, urban life, urban population. The contrasting 
term is rural, q. v. 
utilities, public: See public utility. 

utility: The quality or qualities of an article or commodity that give it the 
power to satisfy a human want. Want-satisfying power is therefore a 
synonym of utility. The want-satisfying power or utility is to be meas¬ 
ured in two ways, commonly called the two kinds of utility, namely, 
marginal and total. Total utility is measured by the loss which would 
be involved in the entire deprivation of a commodity; marginal utility is 
the measure of the loss which would be involved in deprivation of but a 
small quantity of the total supply. Thus water is a fundamental utility, 

' possesses a supremely important want-satisfying power; its total utility 


514 


GLOSSARY 


is therefore great. Diamonds, on the other hand, might be entirely- 
removed from man’s life without injury; their total utility is therefore 
much less than that of water. The supply of water being so plentiful, 
the loss of a single quart is ordinarily of small significance; the marginal 
utility of water is therefore low. The scarcity of diamonds, on the other 
hand, makes the loss of even a small quantity of them in any instance the 
loss of an article of great want-satisfying power; diamonds therefore 
ordinarily have a much higher marginal utility than water. 

value: The specific quantity of another object for which a given object 
can be exchanged. Sbmetimes called exchange value or value in exchange. 
Value may be expressed in terms of any form of wealth or service, and 
in this respect differs from price, which is expressed only in terms of 
money. 

value, labor theory of: A theory propounded by Karl Marx and now an es¬ 
sential part of socialist doctrine. According to this theory, the value of 
everything that is produced depends properly on the amount of labor nec¬ 
essary to produce it. Thus, if a pair of shoes takes two hours to produce, 
and a hat only one, the shoes should have twice the value of the hat. Two 
significant aspects of this theory are (1) that productive power is denied 
to rented agents, to capital, and to risk-taking, and (2) that value and 
price are identified — that is, only one form of value is admitted, namely, 
value in exchange. See value. 

value, theory of surplus: A theory propounded by Karl Marx and now 
an essential part of socialist -doctrine. According to this theory, the 
value that the capitalist finds in the products of industry is a surplus 
value which has arisen out of his exploitation of labor. This theory is 
founded on the following chain of reasoning: Value is created by labor; 
the equipment with which the laborers work to produce value is owned 
by the capitalist; they are therefore obliged to work upon his terms, 
which are the lowest possible under the existing labor-market conditions; 
when they have by their work produced more value, he takes their prod¬ 
uct and without adding any value to it himself disposes of it for the 
best price obtainable, pocketing the difference between this price and 
the price he paid the value-producing laborers; the difference between 
the two prices is therefore a surplus value, got by the capitalist’s exploita¬ 
tion of a group of value-producing laborers. 

venue, change of: The transfer of a case from one court to another. This 
transfer is usually made because of alleged prejudice on the part of the 
first court. 

verdict: The formal decision of a petit jury, q. v. 

vested interests: A term to designate those properties in which money has 
been expended or invested. Sometimes used scornfully to describe the 
power thus derived. 

veto: The rejection of a legislative measure by the executive officer who 


GLOSSARY 


515 


must sign it before it becomes a law. If he does not veto the measure 
until too late for the legislature to reconsider, he is then said to exercise 
the pocket veto. 

vital statistics: The word vital comes from Latin vita, meaning life. Vital 
statistics are therefore statistics about life and the circumstances affecting 
its duration in a community, as birth, death, and disease, 
wages : Payment for services. Nominal wages are those paid in the form of 
money. Real wages are the amount of goods the nominal wages will buy. 
From the standpoint of economics, no distinction need be drawn between 
wages and salaries; both are payments for services, 
want: Want, or desire, becomes effective only when it constitutes demand 
in the economic sense; therefore see demand. 
watered stock: See stock. 

watershed: A whole region or area that, by means of drainage, contributes 
to the supply of a river or lake. 

wealth : Any material thing that satisfies a human want and that is owned. 
Wealth therefore does not include all economic goods; services such as 
the doctor’s or teacher’s are often economic goods but are not wealth 
because they are not material. 

whip : One of the party leaders, in a legislative group, whose duty it is to 
keep the members of that party “in line,” chiefly by seeing that they 
vote and that they vote in accordance with the wishes of the party 
leaders. 

wire pulling: In politics, controlling unofficially an official’s action by vir¬ 
tue of one’s own control of such things as votes for a particular bill, 
awarding of contracts, and appointments to office, 
workmen’s compensation laws: Laws designed to compel employers to 
assume financial liability in the case of accidents to employees when they 
occur during employment. The purpose of such laws is to insure a just 
award for workmen, in the case of disability, without resort to litigation. 
Most states have boards to administer such laws, 
yellow-dog contract: A contract signed by workmen, at the instance of 
their employers, agreeing they will not join a union during the period of 
employment. Such contracts were outlawed by Congress in 1932. 
zoning: See city planning. 




BIBLIOGRAPHY 


To facilitate reference, the books in the following bibliography are 
grouped into three classes: (1) economic and general, (2) social, and 
(3) political. 


I. Economic and General 

Adams, Henry C., Description of Industry. Henry Holt and Co. 1918. 
Arnold, Joseph Irvin, Problems of American Life. Row, Peterson and Co. 
1928. 

Bogart, Ernest Ludlow, The Economic History of the United States. 

Longmans, Green and Co. 1912. 

Bowen, Ezra. Social Economy. Silver, Burdett and Co. 1929. 
Bullock, C. I., Elements of Economics. Silver, Burdett and Co. 1919. 
Carlton, Frank Tracy, Economics. D. C. Heath and Co. 1931. 
Carver, Thomas Nixon, Elementary Economics. Ginn and Co. 1920. 

-, Principles of Rural Economics. Ginn and Co. 1911. 

Coman, Katharine, The Industrial History of the United States. Mac¬ 
millan. 1917. 

Dewey, Davis R., Financial History of the United States. Longmans, 
Green and Co. 1915. 

Ely, Richard T., Outlines of Economics. Macmillan. 1918. 

-, and Wicker, G. R. Elementary Principles of Economics. Macmillan. 

1921. 

Faulkner, H. U., American Economic History. Harper and Bros. 1924. 
Fay, C. R., Elements of Economics. Macmillan. 1926. 

Fetter, Frank A. Modern Economic Problems. Century Co. 1917. 
Janzen, Cornelius C., and Stephenson, Orlando W., Everyday Eco¬ 
nomics. Silver, Burdett and Co. 1931. 

Keister, A. S., Our Financial System. Macmillan. 1930. 

Marshall, Leon C., and Lyon, L. S., Our Economic Organization. 
Macmillan. 1921. 

Ogburn, W. F. and Goldenweiser, A., The Social Sciences and Their 
Interrelations. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1927. 

Riley, E. B., Economics for Secondary Schools. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1924. 
Seager, Henry Rogers, Principles of Economics. Henry Holt and Co. 
1917. 

Semple, Ellen C., American History and its Geographic Conditions. 
Houghton Mifflin Co. 1903. 


517 




518 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Smith, J. Russell. Commerce and Industry. Henry Holt and Co. 1916. 
Taussig, Frank W., Principles of Economics. 2 vols. Macmillan. 1919. 

-, The Tariff History of the United States. Putnam. 1916. 

Thompson, Charles M., Elementary Economics. Benj. H. Sanborn and 
Co. 1924. 

Van Hise, Charles R., The Conservation of Natural Resources in the 
United States. Macmillan. 1918. 

Williamson, Thames Ross, Introduction to Economics. D. C. Heath 
and Co. 1923. 

-, Readings in American Democracy. D. C. Heath and Co. 1922. 

II. Social 

Antin, Mary, The Promised Land. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1912. 

-, They Who Knock at Our Gates. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1914. 

Brawley, Benjamin, Short History of the American Negro. Macmillan. 
1922. 

Burch, Henry Reed, and Patterson, S. W., American Social Problems. 
Macmillan. 1919. 

Carver, Thomas Nixon, Sociology and Social Progress. Ginn and Co. 
1905. 

Commons, John R., Races and Immigrants in America. Macmillan. 1911. 
Cubberley, Ellwood P., Public Education in the United States. Houghton 
Mifflin Co. 1919. 

Devine, Edward T., Misery and its Causes. Macmillan. 1909. 

Dow, Grove Samuel, and Wesley, Edger Bruce, Social Problems of 
Today. Crowell. 1925. 

Eldridge, Seba, and Clark, Carroll D., Major Problems of Democracy. 
Century Co. 1928. 

Ellwood, Charles A., Sociology and Modern Social Problems. American 
Book Co. 1919. 

Finney, Ross L., Elementary Sociology. Benj. H. Sanborn and Co. 1930. 

-, General Social Science. Macmillan. 1926. 

Galpin, Charles J., Rural Life. Century Co. 1918. 

Gault, R. H., Criminology. D. C. Heath and Co. 1932. 

Gillette, John Morris, Constructive Rural Sociology. Sturgis and 
Walton. 1913. 

Gillin, J. L., Poverty and Dependency. Century Co. 

Goddard, Henry H., The Kallikak Family. Macmillan. 1912. 

Groves, E. R., Social Problems and Education. Longmans, Green and Co. 
Hobson, John A., Economics and Ethics; A Study in Social Values. D. C. 
Heath and Co., 1929. 

Keller, Helen, The Story of My Life. Doubleday, Page and Co. 1903. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 519 

Lewis, Burdette G., The Offender and his Relations to Law and Society. 
Harper and Bros. 1917. 

Lippmann, Walter, Public Opinion. Harcourt, Brace. 1922. 
Lundquist, G. A., and Moore, Clyde B., Rural Social Science. Ginn 
and Co. 1929. 

McMahon, Theresa S., Social and Economic Standards of Living. D. C. 
Heath and Co. 1925. 

Mangold, George B., Problems of Child Welfare. Macmillan. 1914. 
Osborne, Thomas Mott, Society and Prisons. Yale University Press. 
1916. 

-, Within Prison Walls. Appleton. 1916. 

Roberts, Peter, The Problem of Americanization. Macmillan. 1920. 
Shideler, Ernest H., Group Life and Social Problems. Henry Holt and Co. 
1929. 

Steiner, Edward A., From Alien to Citizen. F. H. Revell Co. 1914. 
Towne, E. T., Social Problems. Revised. Macmillan. 1931. 

Vogt, Paul L., Introduction to Rural Sociology. Appleton. 1917. 
Warner, Amos G., American Charities. Crowell. 1919. 

Washington, Booker T., Up From Slavery. Doubleday. 1901. 
Williamson, Thames Ross, Introduction to Sociology. D. C. Heath and 
Co. 1926. 

Wines, F. H., Punishment and Reformation. Crowell. 1919. 

III. Political 

Bates, F. G., and Field, O. P., State Government. Harpers. 1928. 
Beard, Charles A., American Government and Politics. Macmillan. 

1929. 

Bryce, James, Modern Democracies. 2 vols. Macmillan. 1921. 

-, The American Commonwealth. 2 vols. Macmillan. 1914. 

Croly, Herbert, The Promise of American Life. Macmillan. 1912. 
Cyclopedia of American Government. Edited by A. C. McLaughlin and 
A. B. Hart. 3 vols. Appleton. 1914. 

Dodd, W. F., State Government. Century. 1922. 

Dunn, Arthur William, The Community and the Citizen. D. C. Heath 
and Co. 1919. 

James, Herman G., Local Government in the United States. Appleton. 
1921. 

Lowell, A. Lawrence, Public Opinion and Popular Government. Long¬ 
mans, Green and Co. 1913. 

Magruder, Frank Abbott. American Government. Allyn and Bacon. 

1930. 

-, National Government and International Relations. Allyn and Bacon. 

1929. 




520 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Mathews, J. M., American State Government. Century Co. 1924. 
Merriam, Charles Edward, American Political Ideas. Macmillan. 1920. 
Mower, E. C., International Government. D. C. Heath and Co. 1931. 
Munro, William Bennett, American Government Today. Macmillan. 
1930. 

-, The Government of American Cities. Macmillan. 1920. 

Ogg, Frederick A., and Ray, P. O., Introduction to the Study of American 
Government. Century Co. 1922. 

Porter, Kirk, History of Suffrage in the United States. University of 
Chicago Press. 1918. 

Reed, Thomas Harrison, Form and Functions of American Government. 
World Book Co. 1917. 

Spindt, Herman A., and Ryan, Frederick Lynne, The Foundations of 
American Government. D. C. Heath and Co. 1929. 


CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 


We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, 
establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defence, 
promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and 
our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States 
of America. 

ARTICLE I 

Section I. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress 
of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Represent¬ 
atives. 

Sect. II. i. The House of Representatives shall be composed of members 
chosen every second year by the people of the several States, and the electors 
in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most 
numerous branch of the State Legislature. 

2 . No person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the 
age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, 
and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State in which he 
shall be chosen. 

3 . Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several 
States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective 
numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free 
persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding 
Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other persons. The actual enumeration 
shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the 
United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner 
as they shall by law direct. The number of Representatives shall not exceed 
one for every thirty thousand, but each State shall have at least one representa¬ 
tive; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire 
shall be entitled to choose three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Provi¬ 
dence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four, Penn¬ 
sylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, 
South Carolina five, and Georgia three. 

4 . When vacancies happen in the representation from any State, the Execu¬ 
tive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies. 

5 . The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other 
officers; and shall have the sole power of impeachment. 

Sect. III. 1 . The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two 

521 


522 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 


Senators from each State, chosen by the legislature thereof, for six years; and 
each Senator shall have one vote. 

2 . Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first 
election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three classes. The 
seats of the Senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of 
the second year, of the second class at the expiration of the fourth year, and 
of the third class at the expiration of the sixth year, so that one third may be 
chosen every second year; and if vacancies happen by resignation or otherwise, 
during the recess of the legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may 
make temporary appointments until the next meeting of the legislature, which 
shall then fill such vacancies. 

3 . No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the age of 
thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and who shall 
not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen. 

4 . The Vice-President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, 
but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. 

5 . The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a President pro 
tempore , in the absence of the Vice-President, or when he shall exercise the office 
of President of the United States. 

6 . The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When 
fitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the Presi¬ 
dent of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: and no person 
shall be convicted without the concurrence of two thirds of the members present. 

7 . Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to 
removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, 
trust or profit under the United States: but the party convicted shall never¬ 
theless be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment and punishment, 
according to law. 

Sect. IV. 1 . The times, places and manner of holding elections for Senators 
and Representatives shall be prescribed in each State by the legislature thereof; 
but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations, except 
as to the places of choosing Senators. 

2 . The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting 
shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by law appoint 
a different day. 

Sect. V. 1 . Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns and 
qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute a 
quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, 
and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, in such 
manner, and under such penalties, as each house may provide. 

2 . Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members 
for disorderly behavior, and with the concurrence of two thirds, expel a member. 

3 . Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to time 
publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their judgment require secrecy; 


CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 523 


and the yeas and nays of the members of either house on any question shall, 
at the desire of one fifth of those present, be entered on the journal. 

4 - Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, without the consent 
of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that 
in which the two houses shall be sitting. 

Sect. VI. i. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a compensa¬ 
tion for their services, to be ascertained by law and paid out of the treasury of 
the United States. They shall in all cases except treason, felony and breach 
of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session 
of their respective houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and 
for any speech or debate in either house, they shall not be questioned in any 
other place. 

2 . No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which he was 
elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United States, 
which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been 
increased, during such time; and no person holding any office under the United 
States shall be a member of either house during his continuance in office. 

Sect. VII. i. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of 
Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments as 
on other bills. 

2 . Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the 
Senate, shall, before it become a law, be presented to the President of the 
United States; if he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it with 
his objections to that house in which it shall have originated, who shall enter 
the objections at large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after 
such reconsideration two thirds of that house shall agree to pass the bill, it 
shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other house, by which it shall 
likewise be reconsidered, and, if approved by two thirds of that house, it shall 
become a law. But in all such cases the votes of both houses shall be deter¬ 
mined by yeas and nays, and the names of the persons voting for and against 
the bill shall be entered on the journal of each house respectively. If any bill 
shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after 
it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if 
he had signed it, unless the Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, 
in which case it shall not be a law. 

3 . Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of the Senate 
and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of 
adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and 
before the same shall take effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved 
by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representa¬ 
tives, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill. 

Sect. VIII. The Congress shall have power 

1 . To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts 
and provide for the common defence and general welfare of the United States; 


524 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 


but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United 
States; 

2 . To borrow money on the credit of the United States; 

3 . To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several 
States, and with the Indian tribes; 

4 . To establish an uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the 
subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States; 

5 . To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix 
the standard of weights and measures; 

6 . To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current 
coin of the United States; 

7 . To establish post offices and post roads; 

8 . To promote the progress of science and useful arts by securing for limited 
times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings 
and discoveries; 

9 . To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court; 

10 . To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas 
and offences against the law of nations; 

11 . To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules 
concerning captures on land and water; 

12 . To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use 
shall be for a longer term than two years; 

13 . To provide and maintain a navy; 

14 . To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval 
forces; 

15 . To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, 
suppress insurrections, and repel invasions; 

16 . To provide for organizing, arming and disciplining the militia, and for 
governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United 
States, reserving to the States respectively the appointment of the officers, and 
the authority of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by 
Congress; 

17 . To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such dis¬ 
trict (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular States, 
and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of government of the United 
States, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent 
of the legislature of the State, in which the same shall be, for the erection of 
forts, magazines, arsenals, dock-yards, and other needful buildings; — and 

18 . To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into 
execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitu¬ 
tion in the government of the United States, or in any department or office 
thereof. 

Sect. IX. 1 . The migration or importation of such persons as any of the 
States now existing shall think proper to admit shall not be prohibited by the 


CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 525 


Congress prior to the year 1808 ; but a tax or duty may be imposed on such 
importation, not exceeding $10 for each person. 

2 . The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless 
when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it. 

3 . No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed. 

4 . No capitation, or other direct, tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to 
the census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken. 

5 . No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State. 

6 . No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue 
to the ports of one State over those of another: nor shall vessels bound to, or 
from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another. 

7 . No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of ap¬ 
propriations made by law; and a regular statement and account of the receipts 
and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to time. 

8 . No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States: and no person 
holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the consent of 
the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind 
whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state. 

Sect. X. 1 . No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; 
grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; make 
anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; pass any bill 
of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or 
grant any title of nobility. 

2 . No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any imposts or 
duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for 
executing its inspection laws: and the net produce of all duties and imposts, 
laid by any State on imports or exports, shall be for the use of the treasury of 
the United States; and all such laws shall be subject to the revision and control 
of the Congress. 

3 . No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of tonnage, 
keep troops, or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any agreement or com¬ 
pact with another State, or with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless 
actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay. 

ARTICLE II 

Section I. 1 . The executive power shall be vested in a President of the 
United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four 
years, and together with the Vice-President, chosen for the same term, 
be elected as follows: 

2 . Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof may 
direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of Senators and Repre¬ 
sentatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress; but no Senator 
or Representative, or person holding an office of trust or profit under the United 
States, shall be appointed an elector. 


526 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 


[The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot for two 
persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant of the same State with 
themselves. And they shall make a list of all the persons voted for, and of the 
number of votes for each; which list they shall sign and certify, and transmit 
sealed to the seat of government of the United States, directed to the President 
of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate 
and House of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then 
be counted. The person having the greatest number of votes shall be the 
President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors ap¬ 
pointed; and if there be more than one who have such majority, and have an 
equal number of votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately 
choose by ballot one of them for President; and if no person have a majority, 
then from the five highest on the list the said house shall in like manner choose 
the President. But in choosing the President the votes shall be taken by 
States, the representation from each State having one vote; a quorum for this 
purpose shall consist of a member or members from two thirds of the States, 
and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. In every case, 
after the choice of the President, the person having the greatest number of votes 
of the electors shall be the Vice-President. But if there should remain two or 
more who have equal votes, the Senate shall choose from them by ballot the 
Vice-President.] 

3 . The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors and the 
day on which they shall give their votes; which day shall be the same through¬ 
out the United States. 

4 . No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, 
at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office 
of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not 
have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resident 
within the United States. 

5 . In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death, resigna¬ 
tion, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same 
shall devolve on the Vice-President, and the Congress may by law provide for 
the case of removal, death, resignation, or inability, both of the President and 
Vice-President, declaring what officer shall then act as President, and such 
officer shall act accordingly, until the disability be removed, or a President shall 
be elected. 

6 . The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services, a compensa¬ 
tion, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period for 
which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that period 
any other emolument from the United States, or any of them. 

7 . Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the following 
oath or affirmation: — “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully 
execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my 
ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” 


CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 527 


Sect. II. i. The President shall be commander in chief of the army and 
navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several States, when called 
into the actual service of the United States; he may require the opinion, in 
writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon any 
subject relating to the duties of their respective offices, and he shall have power 
to grant reprieves and pardons for offences against the United States, except 
in cases of impeachment. 

2 . He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he 
shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall 
appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme 
Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not 
herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law: but the 
Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers, as they 
think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of 
departments. 

3 . The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen 
during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at 
the end of their next session. 

Sect. III. He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of 
the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures 
as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary occasions, 
convene both houses, or either of them, and in case of disagreement between 
them, with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such 
time as he shall think proper; he shall receive ambassadors and other public 
ministers; he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall 
commission all the officers of the United States. 

Sect. IV. The President, Vice-President and all civil officers of the United 
States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and on conviction 
of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE III 

Section I. 1 . The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in 
one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as Congress may from time to 
time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the Supreme and inferior 
courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior, and shall, at stated times, 
receive for their services, a compensation, which shall not be diminished during 
their continuance in office. 

Sect. II. 1 . The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, 
arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made 
or which shall be made, under their authority; — to all cases affecting ambassa¬ 
dors, other public ministers and consuls; — to all cases of admiralty jurisdic¬ 
tion; — to controversies to which the United States shall be a party; — to 
controversies between two or more States; — between a State and citizens of 


528 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 


another State; — between citizens of different States; — between citizens of 
the same State claiming lands under grants of different States, and between a 
State, or the citizens thereof, and foreign states, citizens or subjects. 

2 . In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, 
and those in which a State shall be a party, the Supreme Court shall have 
original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before mentioned, the Supreme 
Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such ex¬ 
ceptions, and under such regulations as the Congress shall make. 

3 . The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury; 
and such trial shall be held in the State where the said crimes shall have been 
committed; but when not committed within any State, the trial shall be at 
such place or places as the Congress may by law have directed. 

Sect. III. 1 . Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying 
war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. 
No person shall be convicted of treason unlesS on the testimony of two witnesses 
to the same overt act, or on confession in open court. 

2 . The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, but 
no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture except 
during the life of the person attainted. 

ARTICLE IV 

Section I. Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public 
acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. And the Congress 
may by general laws prescribe the manner in which such acts, records, and 
proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof. 

Sect. II. 1 . The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges 
and immunities of citizens in the several States. 

2 . A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other crime, who 
shall flee from justice, and be found in another State, shall on demand of the 
executive authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be 
removed to the State having jurisdiction of the crime. 

3 . No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws thereof, 
escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, 
be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of 
the party to whom such service or labor may be due. 

Sect. III. 1 . New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; 
but no new State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other 
State; nor any State be formed by the junction of two or more States, or parts 
of States, without the consent of the legislatures of the States concerned as well 
as of the Congress. 

2 . The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules 
and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the 
United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to 
prejudice any claims of the United States, or of any particular State. 


CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 529 


Sect. IV. The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union 
a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against in¬ 
vasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the 
legislature cannot be convened) against domestic violence. 

ARTICLE V 

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, 
shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the 
legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a convention for pro¬ 
posing amendments, which, in either case shall be valid to all intents and pur¬ 
poses, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three 
fourths of the several States, or by conventions in three fourths thereof, as the 
one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; provided 
that no amendments which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight 
hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the 
ninth section of the first article; and that no State, without its consent, shall 
be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate. 

ARTICLE VI 

1. All debts contracted and engagements entered into, before the adoption 
of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this 
Constitution, as under the Confederation. 

2 . This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made 
in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the 
authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the 
judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or 
laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding. 

3 . The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members 
of the several State legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of 
the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by oath or affirma¬ 
tion, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required 
as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States. 

ARTICLE VII 

The ratification of the conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the 
establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the same. 

Done in Convention by the unanimous consent of the States present, the 
seventeenth day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand seven 
hundred and eighty-seven and of the Independence of the United States of 
America the twelfth. In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our 
names. 

[ Signed by] 


G° Washington 

Presidt and Deputy front Virginia 


530 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 


Articles in Addition to and Amendment of the Constitution of the 
United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified 
by the Legislatures of the Several States, Pursuant to the 
Fifth Article of the Original Constitution 1 

Article I. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of 
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of 
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and 
to petition the government for a redress of grievances. 

Article II. A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a 
free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed. 

Article III. No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house 
without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be 
prescribed by law. 

Article IV. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, 
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be 
violated, and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by 
oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and 
the persons or things to be seized. 

Article V. No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise 
infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury except 
in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual 
service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the 
same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled 
in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, 
liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property 
be taken for public use without just compensation. 

Article VI. In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right 
to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district 
wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been 
previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of tjie nature and cause of 
the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have 
compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assist¬ 
ance of counsel for his defence. 

Article VII. In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall 
exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact 
tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States, 
than according to the rules of the common law. 

Article VIII. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines 
imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 

Article IX. The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall 
not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. 

Article X. The powers not delegated to the United States by the Con- 

1 The first ten Amendments were adopted in 1791 . 


CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 531 


stitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respec¬ 
tively, or to the people. 

Article XI. The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed 
to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one 
of the United States by citizens of another State, or by citizens or subjects of 
any foreign state. [Adopted in 1798 .] 

Article XII. The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote 
by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be 
an inhabitant of the same State with themselves; they shall name in their 
ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person 
voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons 
voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of 
the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and 
transmit sealed to the seat of government of the United States, directed to 
the President of the Senate; — the President of the Senate shall, in the pres¬ 
ence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and 
the votes shall then be counted; — the person having the greatest number of 
votes for President shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the 
whole number of electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then 
from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of 
those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose im¬ 
mediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes 
shall be taken by States, the representation from each State having one vote; 
a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two thirds 
of the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. 
And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever 
the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March 
next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the 
death or other constitutional disability of the President. — The person having 
the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if 
such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed, and if 
no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the 
Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist 
of two thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole 
number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible 
to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United 
States. [Adopted in 1804 .] 

Article XIII, Section 1 . Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, 
except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly con¬ 
victed, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their juris¬ 
diction. 

Section 2 . Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate 
legislation. [Adopted in 1865 .] 

Article XIV. Section 1 . All persons born or naturalized in the United 


532 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 


States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States 
and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law 
which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; 
nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due 
process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protec¬ 
tion of the laws. 

Section 2 . Representatives shah be apportioned among the several States 
according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons 
in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any 
election for the choice of Electors for President and Vice-President of the United 
States, Representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a 
State, or the members of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male 
inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age and citizens of the 
United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or 
other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the propor¬ 
tion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of 
male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State. 

Section 3 . No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or 
Elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, 
under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an 
oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a 
member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any 
State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in 
insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies 
thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two thirds of each house, remove such 
disability. 

Section 4 . The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized 
by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for 
services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But 
neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obliga¬ 
tion incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any 
claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations, 
and claims shall be held illegal and void. 

Section 5 . The Congress shall have power to enforce by appropriate legisla¬ 
tion the provisions of this article. [Adopted in 1867 .]] 

Article XV. Section 1 . The right of citizens of the United States to vote 
shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account 
of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 

Section 2 . The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appro¬ 
priate legislation. [Adopted in 1870.3 
Article XVI. The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on 
incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the sev¬ 
eral States, and without regard to any census or enumeration. [Adopted in 1913 .] 
Article XVII. Section 1 . The Senate of the United States shall be com- 


CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 533 


posed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six 
years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall 
have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the 
State Legislatures. 

Section 2 . When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in 
the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election 
to fill such vacancies: Provided that the Legislature of any State may empower 
the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the 
vacancies by election as the Legislature may direct. 

Section 3 . This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election 
or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution. 
[Adopted in 1913 .] 

Article XVIII. Section 1 . After one year from the ratification of this 
article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, 
the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from, the United 
States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage pur¬ 
poses is hereby prohibited. 

Section 2 . The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent 
power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. 

Section 3 . This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been 
ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the 
several States, as provided by the Constitution, within seven years from the 
date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress. [Adopted 
in 1919O 

Article XIX. Section 1 . The right of citizens of the United States to 
vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on 
account of sex. 

Section 2 . The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by ap¬ 
propriate legislation. 























COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS 


The High Contracting Parties, 

In order to promote international cooperation and to achieve international 
peace and security 

by the acceptance of obligations not to resort to war, 
by the prescription of open, just and honorable relations between nations, 
by the firm establishment of the understandings of international law as the 
actual rule of conduct among Governments, and 
by the maintenance of justice and a scrupulous respect for all treaty obliga¬ 
tions in the dealings of organized peoples with one another, 
agree to this Covenant of the League of Nations. 

Article i 

1. The original Members of the League of Nations shall be those of the 
Signatories which are named in the Annex to this Covenant, and also such of 
those other States named in the Annex as shall accede without reservation to 
this Covenant. Such accessions shall be effected by a declaration deposited with 
the Secretariat within two months of the coming into force of the Covenant. 
Notice thereof shall be sent to all other Members of the League. 

2 . Any full self-governing State, Dominion or Colony not named in the 
Annex may become a Member of the League, if its admission is agreed to by 
two thirds of the Assembly, provided that it shall give effective guaranties of 
its sincere intention to observe its international obligations, and shall accept 
such regulations as may be prescribed by the League in regard to its military, 
naval and air forces and armaments. 

3 . Any Member of the League may, after two years’ notice of its intention 
so to do, withdraw from the League, provided that all its international obliga¬ 
tions and all its obligations under this Covenant shall have been fulfilled at the 
time of its withdrawal. 


Article 2 

The action of the League under this Covenant shall be effected through the 
instrumentality of an Assembly and of a Council, with a permanent Secretariat. 

Article 3 

1 . The Assembly shall consist of representatives of the Members of the 
League. 

2 . The Assembly shall meet at stated intervals 1 and from time to time, 

1 The Assembly meets annually in September. Permanent headquarters are established at 
Geneva. 


535 


536 COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS 


as occasion may require, at the Seat of the League, or at such other place as 
may be decided upon. 

3 . The Assembly may deal at its meetings with any matter within the 
sphere of action of the League or affecting the peace of the world. 

4. At meetings of the Assembly each Member of the League shall have one 
vote and may have not more than three Representatives. 

Article 4 

1 . The Council 1 shall consist of Representatives of the Principal Allied and 
Associated Powers together with Representatives of four other Members of 
the League. These four Members of the League shall be selected by the As¬ 
sembly from time to time in its discretion. Until the appointment of the 
Representatives of the four Members of the League first selected by the As¬ 
sembly, Representatives of Belgium, Brazil, Greece, and Spain shall be Mem¬ 
bers of the Council. 

2 . With the approval of the majority of the Assembly, the Council may 
name additional Members of the League, whose Representatives shall always 
be Members of the Council; the Council with like approval may increase the 
number of Members of the League to be selected by the Assembly for represen¬ 
tation on the Council. 

The Assembly shall fix by a two-thirds majority the rules dealing with the election 
of the non-permanent Members of the Council, and particularly such regulations 
as relate to their term of office and the conditions of reeligibility. 

3 . The Council shall meet from time to time 2 as occasion may require, and 
at least once a year, at the Seat, of the League, or at such other place as may 
be decided upon. 

4 . The Council may deal at its meetings with any matter within the sphere 
of action of the League or affecting the peace of the world. 

5 . Any Member of the League not represented on the Council shall be 
invited to send a Representative to sit as a member at any meeting of the 
Council during the consideration of matters specially affecting the interests of 
that Member of the League. 

6 . At meetings of the Council, each Member of the League represented on 
the Council shall have one vote, and may have not more than one Representa¬ 
tive. 


Article 5 

1 . Except where otherwise expressly provided in this Covenant, or by the 
terms of the present Treaty, decisions at any meeting of the Assembly or of the 
Council shall require the agreement of all the Members of the League repre¬ 
sented at the meeting. 

2 . All matters of procedure at meetings of the Assembly or of the Council, 

1 The Council now consists of France, Germany, England, Italy, and Japan. 

2 It meets three times a year. 


COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS 537 


including the appointment of Committees to investigate particular matters, 
shall be regulated by the Assembly or by the Council and may be decided by 
a majority of the Members of the League represented at the meeting. 

3 . The first meeting of the Assembly and the first meeting of the Council 
shall be summoned by the President of the United States of America. 

Article 6 

1 . The permanent Secretariat shall be established at the Seat of the League. 
The Secretariat shall comprise a Secretary-General 1 and such secretaries and 
staff as may be required. 

2 . The first Secretary-General shall be the person named in the Annex; 
thereafter the Secretary-General shall be appointed by the Council with the 
approval of the majority of the Assembly. 

3 . The secretaries and the staff of the Secretariat shall be appointed by the 
Secretary-General with the approval of the Council. 

4 . The Secretary-General shall act in that capacity at all meetings of the 
Assembly and of the Council. 

5 . The expenses of the League shall he borne by the Members of the League in 
the proportion decided by the Assembly . 2 

Article 7 

1 . The Seat of the League is established at Geneva. 

2 . The Council may at any time decide that the Seat of the League shall 
be established elsewhere. 

3 . All positions under or in connection with the League, including the 
Secretariat, shall be open equally to men and women. 

4 . Representatives of the Members of the League and officials of the League 
when engaged on the business of the League shall enjoy diplomatic privileges 
and immunities. 

5 . The buildings and other property occupied by the League or its officials 
or by Representatives attending its meetings shall be inviolable. 

Article 8 

1 . The Members of the League recognize that the maintenance of peace 
requires the reduction of national armaments to the lowest point consistent 
with national safety and the enforcement by common action of international 
obligations. 

2 . The Council, taking account of the geographical situation and circum¬ 
stances of each State, shall formulate plans for such reduction for the considera¬ 
tion and action of the several Governments. 

3 . Such plans shall be subject to reconsideration and revision at least every 
ten years. 

1 Eric Drummond has been Secretary-General since the beginning of the League. He has a 
staff of about five hundred helpers. 

2 The United States has contributed to the support of various activities of the League. 


538 COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS 


4 . After these plans shall have been adopted by the several Governments, 
the limits of armaments therein fixed shall not be exceeded without the con¬ 
currence of the Council. 

5 . The Members of the League agree that the manufacture by private enter¬ 
prise of munitions and implements of war is open to grave objections. The 
Council shall advise how the evil effects attendant upon such manufacture 
can be prevented, due regard being had to the necessities of those Members of 
the League which are not able to manufacture the munitions and implements 
of war necessary for their safety. 

6 . The Members of the League undertake to interchange full and frank 
information as to the scale of their armaments, their military, naval and air 
programs, and the condition of such of their industries as are adaptable to 
warlike purposes. 

Article 9 

A permanent Commission shall be constituted to advise the Council on the 
execution of the provisions of Articles 1 and 8 and on military, naval and air 
questions generally. 

Article 10 

The Members of the League undertake to respect and preserve as against 
external aggression the territorial integrity and existing political independence 
of all Members of the League. In case of any such aggression or in case of any 
threat or danger of such aggression, the Council shall advise upon the means by 
which this obligation shall be fulfilled. 

Article ii 

1 . Any war or threat of war, whether immediately affecting any of the 
Members of the League or not, is hereby declared a matter of concern to the 
whole League, and the League shall take any action that may be deemed wise 
and effectual to safeguard the peace of nations. In case any such emergency 
should arise, the Secretary-General shall, on the request of any Member of the 
League, forthwith summon a meeting of the Council. 

2 . It is also declared to be the friendly right of each Member of the League 
to bring to the attention of the Assembly or of the Council any circumstance 
whatever affecting international relations which threatens to disturb interna¬ 
tional peace or the good understanding between nations upon which peace 
depends. 

Article 12 

1 . The Members of the League agree that, if there should arise between 
them any dispute likely to lead to a rupture they will submit the matter either 
to arbitration or judicial settlement or to inquiry by the Council and they agree 
in no case to resort to war until three months after the award by the arbitrators 
or the judicial decision , or the report by the Council. 


COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS 539 


2 . In any case under this Article, the award of the arbitrators or the judicial 
decision shall be made within a reasonable time, and the report of the Council 
shall be made within six months after the submission of the dispute. 

Article 13 

1 . The Members of the League agree that, whenever any dispute shall arise 
between them which they recognize to be suitable for submission to arbitration 
or judicial settlement , and which cannot be satisfactorily settled by diplomacy, 
they will submit the whole subject-matter to arbitration or judicial settlement. 

2 . Disputes as to the interpretation of a treaty, as to any question of inter¬ 
national law, as to the existence of any fact which, if established, would con¬ 
stitute a breach of any international obligation, or as to the extent and nature 
of the reparation to be made for any such breach, are declared to be among 
those which are generally suitable for submission to arbitration or judicial 
settlement. 

3 . For the consideration of any such dispute, the court to which the case is 
referred shall he the Permanent Court of International Justice , established in 
accordance with Article 14 , or any tribunal agreed on by the parties to the dispute 
or stipulated in any convention existing between them. 

4. The Members of the League agree that they will carry out in full good 
faith any award or decision that may be rendered, and that they will not resort 
to war against a Member of the League which complies therewith. In the event 
of any failure to carry out such an award or decision, the Council shall propose 
what steps should be taken to give effect thereto. 

Article 14 

The Council shall formulate and submit to the Members of the League for 
adoption plans for the establishment of a Permanent Court of International 
Justice. The Court shall be competent to hear and determine any dispute of 
an international character which the parties thereto submit to it. The Court 
may also give an advisory opinion upon any dispute or question referred to it 
by the Council or by the Assembly. 

Article 15 

1 . If there should arise between Members of the League any dispute likely 
to lead to a rupture, which is not submitted to arbitration or judicial settlement 
in accordance with Article 13 , the Members of the League agree that they will 
submit the matter to the Council. Any party to the dispute may effect such 
submission by giving notice of the existence of the dispute to the Secretary- 
General, who will make all necessary arrangements for a full investigation and 
consideration thereof. 

2 . For this purpose the parties to the dispute will communicate to the 
Secretary-General, as promptly as possible, statements of their case, with all 


540 COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS 


the relevant facts and papers, and the Council may forthwith direct the pub¬ 
lication thereof. 

3 . The Council shall endeavor to effect a settlement of the dispute and, if 
such efforts are successful, a statement shall be made public giving such facts 
and explanations regarding the dispute and the terms of settlement thereof as 
the Council may deem appropriate. 

4 . If the dispute is not thus settled, the Council, either unanimously or by 
a majority vote, shall make and publish a report containing a statement of the 
facts of the dispute and the recommendations which are deemed just and 
proper in regard thereto. 

5 . Any Member of the League represented on the Council may make public 
a statement of the facts of the dispute and of its conclusions regarding the same. 

6 . If a report by the Council is unanimously agreed to by the Members 
thereof other than the Representatives of one or more of the parties to the 
dispute, the Members of the League agree that they will not go to war with 
any party to the dispute which complies with the recommendations of the 
report. 

7 . If the Council fails to reach a report which is unanimously agreed to by 
the members thereof, other than the Representatives of one or more of the 
parties to the dispute, the Members of the League reserve to themselves the 
right to take such action as they shall consider necessary for the maintenance 
of right and justice. 

8 . If the dispute between the parties is claimed by one of them, and is 
found by the Council, to arise out of a matter which by international law is 
solely within the domestic jurisdiction of that party, the Council shall so report, 
and shall make no recommendation as to its settlement. 

9 . The Council may in any case under this Article refer the dispute to the 
Assembly. The dispute shall be so referred at the request of either party to the 
dispute, provided that such request be made within 14 days after the submission 
of the dispute to the Council. 

10 . In any case referred to the Assembly, all the provisions of this Article 
and of Article 12 relating to the action and powers of the Council shall apply 
to the action and powers of the Assembly, provided that a report made by the 
Assembly, if concurred in by the Representatives of those Members of the 
League represented on the Council and of a majority of the other Members of 
the League, exclusive in each case of the Representatives of the parties to the 
dispute, shall have the same force as a report by the Council concurred in by 
all the members thereof other than the Representatives of one or more of the 
parties to the dispute. 


Article 16 

1 . Should any Member of the League resort to war in disregard of its cove¬ 
nants under Articles 12 , 13 or 15 , it shall ipso facto be deemed to have committed 
an act of war against all other Members of the League, which hereby undertake 


COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS 541 


immediately to subject it to the severance of all trade or financial relations, 
the prohibition of all intercourse between their nationals and the nationals of 
the covenant-breaking State, and the prevention of all financial, commercial 
or personal intercourse between the nationals of the covenant-breaking State 
and the nationals of any other State, whether a Member of the League or not. 

2. It shall be the duty of the Council in such case to recommend to the 
several Governments concerned what effective military, naval or air force the 
Members of the League shall severally contribute to the armed forces to be 
used to protect the covenants of the League. 

3. The Members of the League agree, further, that they will mutually sup¬ 
port one another in the financial and economic measures which are taken under 
this Article, in order to minimize the loss and inconvenience resulting from the 
above measures, and that they will mutually support one another in resisting 
any special measures aimed at one of their number by the covenant-breaking 
State, and that they will take the necessary steps to afford passage through 
their territory to the forces of any of the Members of the League which are 
cooperating to protect the covenants of the League. 

4. Any Member of the League which has violated any covenant of the 
League may be declared to be no longer a Member of the League by a vote 
of the Council concurred in by the Representatives of all the other Members 
of the League represented thereon. 

Article 17 

1. In the event of a dispute between a Member of the League and a State 
which is not a Member of the League, or between States not Members of the 
League, the State or States not Members of the League shall be invited to 
accept the obligations of Membership in the League for the purposes of such 
dispute, upon such conditions as the Council may deem just. If such invitation 
is accepted, the provisions of Articles 12 to 16, inclusive, shall be applied with 
such modifications as may be deemed necessary by the Council. 

2. Upon such invitation being given, the Council shall immediately institute 
an inquiry into the circumstances of the dispute and recommend such action 
as may seem best and most effectual in the circumstances. 

3. If a State so invited shall refuse to accept the obligations of Membership 
in the League for the purposes of such dispute, and shall resort to war against 
a Member of the League, the provisions of Article 16 shall be applicable as 
against the State taking such action. 

4. If both parties to the dispute, when so invited, refuse to accept the obliga¬ 
tions of Membership in the League for the purposes of such dispute, the Council 
may take such measures and make such recommendations as will prevent 
hostilities and will result in the settlement of the dispute. 

Article 18 

Every treaty or international engagement entered into hereafter by any 
Member of the League shall be forthwith registered with the Secretariat and 


542 COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS 


shall as soon as possible be published by it. No such treaty or international 
engagement shall be binding until so registered. 

Article 19 

The Assembly may from time to time advise the reconsideration by Members 
of the League of treaties which have become inapplicable, and the consideration 
of international conditions whose continuance might endanger the peace of the 
world. 

Article 20 

1. The Members of the League severally agree that this Covenant is accepted 
as abrogating all obligations or understandings inter se which are inconsistent 
with the terms thereof, and solemnly undertake that they will not hereafter 
enter into any engagements inconsistent with the terms thereof. 

2. In case any Member of the League shall, before becoming a Member of 
the League, have undertaken any obligation inconsistent with the terms of 
this Covenant, it shall be the duty of such Member to take immediate steps to 
procure its release from such obligations. 

Article 21 

Nothing in this Covenant shall be deemed to affect the validity of inter¬ 
national engagements, such as treaties of arbitration or regional understandings 
like the Monroe doctrine, for securing the maintenance of peace. 

Article 22 

1. To those colonies and territories which as a consequence of the late war 
have ceased to be under the sovereignty of the States which formerly governed 
them and which are inhabited by peoples not yet able to stand by themselves 
under the strenuous conditions of the modern world, there should be applied 
the principle that the well-being and development of such peoples form a 
sacred trust of civilization and that securities for the performance of this trust 
should be embodied in this Covenant. 

2. The best method of giving practical effect to this principle is that the 
tutelage of such peoples should be intrusted to advanced nations who, by 
reason of their resources, their experience or their geographical position, can 
best undertake this responsibility, and who are willing to accept it, and that this 
tutelage should be exercised by them as Mandatories on behalf of the League. 

3. The character of the mandate must differ according to the stage of the 
development of the people, thfe geographical situation of the territory, its 
economic conditions and other similar circumstances. 

4. Certain communities formerly belonging to the Turkish Empire have 
reached a stage of development where their existence as independent nations 
can be provisionally recognized subject to the rendering of administrative 
advice and assistance by a Mandatory until such time as they are able to stand 


COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS 543 


alone. The wishes of these communities must be a principal consideration in 
the selection of the Mandatory. 

5. Other peoples, especially those of Central Africa, are at such a stage that 
the Mandatory must be responsible for the administration of the territory 
under conditions which will guarantee freedom of conscience and religion, 
subject only to the maintenance of public order and morals, the prohibition 
of abuses such as the slave trade, the arms traffic and the liquor traffic, and the 
prevention of the establishment of fortifications or military and naval bases 
and of military training of the natives for other than police purposes and the 
defense of territory, and will also secure equal opportunities for the trade and 
commerce of other Members of the League. 

6. There are territories, such as Southwest Africa and certain of the South 
Pacific islands, which, owing to the sparseness of their population or their 
small size, or their remoteness from the centers of civilization, or their geo¬ 
graphical contiguity to the territory of the Mandatory, and other circum¬ 
stances, can be best administered under the laws of the Mandatory as integral 
portions of its territory, subject to the safeguards above mentioned in the 
interests of the indigenous population. 

7. In every case of mandate, the Mandatory shall render to the Council 
an annual report in reference to the territory committed to its charge. 

8. The degree of authority, control or administration to be exercised by the 
Mandatory shall, if not previously agreed upon by the Members of the League, 
be explicitly defined in each case by the Council. 

9. A permanent Commission shall be constituted to receive and examine 
the annual reports of the Mandatories, and to advise the Council on all matters 
relating to the observance of the mandates. 

Article 23 

Subject to and in accordance with the provisions of international conventions 
existing or hereafter to be agreed upon, the Members of the League: 

(a) will endeavor to secure and maintain fair and humane conditions of 
labor for men, women, and children, both in their own countries and in all 
countries to which their commercial and industrial relations extend, and for 
that purpose will establish and maintain the necessary international organ¬ 
izations; 

( b ) undertake to secure just treatment of the native inhabitants of territories 
under their control; 

(c) will intrust the League with the general supervision over the execution 
of agreements with regard to the traffic in women and children and the 
traffic in opium and other dangerous drugs; 

(d) will intrust the League with the general supervision of the trade in arms 
and ammunition with the countries in which the control of this traffic is 
necessary in the common interest; 

(e) will make provision to secure and maintain freedom of communications 


544 COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS 


and of transit and equitable treatment for the commerce of all Members of 
the League. In this connection, the special necessities of the regions dev¬ 
astated during the war of 1914-1918 shall be borne in mind; 

(/) will endeavor to take steps in matters of international concern for the 
prevention and control of disease. 

Article 24 

1. There shall be placed under the direction of the League all international 
bureaus already established by general treaties, if the parties of such treaties 
consent. All such international bureaus and all commissions for the regulation 
of matters of international interest hereafter constituted shall be placed under 
the direction of the League. 

2. In all matters of international interest which are regulated by general 
conventions but which are not placed under the control of international bureaus 
or commissions, the Secretariat of the League shall, subject to the consent of 
the Council and if desired by the parties, collect and distribute all relevant 
information and shall render any other assistance which may be necessary or 
desirable. 

3. The Council may include as part of the expenses of the Secretariat the 
expenses of any bureau or commission which is placed under the direction of 
the League. 

Article 25 

The Members of the League agree to encourage and promote the establish¬ 
ment and cooperation of duly authorized voluntary national Red Cross organ¬ 
izations having as purposes the improvement of health, the prevention of disease 
and the mitigation of suffering throughout the world. 

Article 26 

1. Amendments 1 to this Covenant will take effect when ratified by the 
Members of the League whose Representatives compose the Council and by 
a majority of the Members of the League whose Representatives compose the 
Assembly. 

2. No such amendment shall bind any Member of the League which signifies 
its dissent therefrom, but in that case it shall cease to be a Member of the League. 

1 In 1928 the League proposed the Pacific Settlement, a provision for the renunciation of war 
as an instrument of policy. Fifty-nine of the sixty-five members have signed the provision. 


r 


INDEX 


The reader is urged to make frequent use of the Glossary as well as of the 
Index. For example “Bill of Rights” in the Index cites page 402. A succinct 
statement of the “Bill of Rights” can also be found in its proper alphabetical 
order in the Glossary. 


Accident insurance, 90. 

Administration of municipal govern¬ 
ment, 328-329. 

Ad valorem tariff, 443. 

Age of metals, 17. 

Agricultural Credits Act, of 1916, 
131; of 1922, 131. 

Agriculture, in the United States, 
44; Department of, 66, 287-288; 
increasing yield of, 141. 

Alabama, 312. 

Alaska, 287. 

Almsgiving, 240-241. 

Almshouses, 241, 243. 

Amending process, as a means of 
popular control, 377. 

Amendment, of the federal Consti¬ 
tution, 277-278; of state consti¬ 
tutions, 305-306. 

Amendments to the Constitution; 
Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fif¬ 
teenth, 226, 338; Tenth, 275; 
Sixteenth, 277, 437. 

American Association for Labor 
Legislation, 91. 

American Bar Association, 85. 

American democracy, problems in, 
12-14; direct, 376-382. (See also 
Impeachment, Initiative, Referen¬ 
dum, and Recall .) 

American Federation of Labor, 77, 
89, 91. 


American government. (See Fed¬ 
eral Government .) 

American industry, nature of, 41- 
47; magnitude of, 41. 

American people, occupations of, 
43-44. 

American Printing House for the 
Blind, 249. 

American Revolution, 336. 

American Tobacco Company, 425. 

Americanization, 395-397. 

Anarchism, 161. 

Annapolis, 286. 

Anthony, Susan B., 338, 340. 

Anthracite coal strike of 1902, 81. 

Appalachians, 42, 65. 

Appellate jurisdiction, 296. 

Arbitration, defined, 82 f; volun¬ 
tary, 82-83; compulsory, 83; 
international, 465. 

Arizona, 306, 340, 381. 

Arkansas, 193, 306. 

Arrowrock Dam, 70. 

Articles of Confederation, 273. 

Asiatic immigration, 393-394. 

Atlanta, 200. 

Atlantic, 41, 67. 

Attorney-General, of the United 
States, 286, 298, 426; of the state, 
309. 

Australian ballot, 349. (See also 
the Glossary.) 


545 


546 


INDEX 


Austria, 179. 

Austria-Hungary, 387. 

Back to the land movement, 216. 

Backward countries, 467-468. 

Bail, excessive, 304. 

Balance of power theory, 459. 

Ballot, Australian, 349; short, 361- 
363; long, 361. 

Bank, defined, 120; types of, 120- 
121 ; note, 120; functions of, 121; 
credit, 121-122; confidence in, 
122-123; failures, 123; agricul¬ 
tural, 130-131; Home Loan Dis¬ 
count, 132; runs, 127; Farm 
Loan, 217. 

Banking, necessity of elasticity in, 
124-126; before 1913, 126; and 
panic of 1907,126-127; reform in, 
127; under Federal Reserve Sys¬ 
tem, 127-130. (See Federal Re¬ 
serve System.) 

Barter, 116-117. 

Beggars, 244. 

Belgium, 151, 152, 363. 

Bill drafter, 368. 

Bill of attainder, 276. 

Bill of Rights, 402. 

Blacklist, 80. 

Blind, The, number of, 249; causes 
of blindness, 249; treatment of, 
250; prevention of blindness, 250. 

Boards and commissions, national, 
289; state, 310; city, 328-329. 

Bolshevism, 165-170; defined, 165; 
developments of, 169-170; future 
of, 170; and religion, 170. 

Bolshevists, origin of, 165-166; con¬ 
stitution of, 166-167; dictatorship 
of the proletariat by, 167-168; 
suppression of democracy by, 168; 
and capitalism, 168-169. 

Boss, political, 348, 356. 

Boston, 133, 180. 


Boycott, 80. 

Braille, Louis, 249. 

Bronze, 17. 

Brookline, Mass., 330. 

Bryce, Lord, 260-261, 363, 367, 402. 

Budget, in American government, 
370-371; reform, 370-372. 

Buffalo, N. Y., 407. 

Bureau of Labor Statistics, 396. 

Business, relation to government, 
412-426; public interest in, 412; 
nature of this interest, 412; regu¬ 
lation of utilities, 415; municipal 
ownership, 415-417; national 
ownership of railroads, 417-418, 
421-422; state regulation of, 419- 
420; federal regulation of, 420- 
421; Sherman Anti-trust Act, 
424-425; trust legislation, 425- 
426. 

Cabinet, President’s, 283-284. 

California, 178, 306, 311, 333, 340, 
381, 394. 

Campaign contributions, 347-348. 

Canada, 42, 179, 391, 449. 

Canal Zone, 283. 

Capital, Marx’s, 161-162. 

Capital, defined, 61; in production, 
60-61; increased by thrift, 141. 

Capitalism, as a system, 98; bases 
of, 98-105; benefits of, 102; de¬ 
fects of, 102-103, 136-137; in¬ 
equality of wealth under, 103- 
104. 

Capitalist, 109. 

Carey Act, 70. 

Carnegie, Andrew, 460. 

Carver, Thomas Nixon, 99, 136. 

Caucus, 355-356. 

Causes, of dependency, 239-240; of 
international friction, 454-455. 

Charge d’affaires, 281. 

Charity. (See Dependency.) 


INDEX 


547 


Check, bank, 120. 

Checks and balances, 274-275. 

Chicago, 133, 171, 180, 273, 312, 
400, 407, 408. 

Child labor, extent and causes, 84; 
effects, 84-85; laws, 85; amend¬ 
ment, 85. 

Chinese immigration, 393-394. 

Christians, kinds and numbers, 454- 
455. 

Church, origin of, 25-26; rural, 
221-222; and almsgiving, 237; 
and public opinion, 262-263. 

Cincinnati, 373. 

Circuit court, federal, 296-297; 
state, 318. 

Circulation of currency, 129-130. 

Cities, growth of, 180-181, 214; and 
home-making, 187-188. 

Citizenship, 335; contrasted with 
suffrage, 335. 

City council, organization of, 326; 
powers of, 326-327; procedure of, 
327; reform of, 372. 

City government. (See Municipal 
Government.) 

City manager plan, 326, 374. 

Cityward drift, nature of, 214; 
reasons for, 215; significance of, 
215-216. 

Civil procedure in state courts, 321. 

Civil service, national, 281-282; 
state, 311; system, 350. 

Civil Service Act, 311, 350. 

Civil War, 337, 344, 345, 444. 

Civilization, nature of, 22; develop¬ 
ment of, 28; effect upon environ¬ 
ment, 28-29; as a matter of ideas, 
29. 

Classification of pupils, 203 

Class struggle, 163; unwarranted, 
164. 

Clay, Henry, 446. 

Clayton Act, 425 


Cleveland, Ohio, 133, 227, 400. 

Closed shop, 79. 

Coal, conservation of, 66-67; strike 
of 1902, 81. 

Colorado, 71, 306, 311, 338, 381. 

Columbus, Ohio, 373. 

Comforts, 53. 

Commander-in-chief, President as, 
283. 

Commerce, Department of, 288. 

Commission dealers, licensing of, 
218-219. 

Commission plan, of city govern¬ 
ment, 326, 373-374. 

Commissioner of Education, 287. 

Committee system, in legislation, 
367; in Congress, 295-296. 

Common law, 317. 

Communication, examples of, 45. 

Communism, 170. 

Communist Manifesto, 161-162. 

Community fund, 246. 

Community spirit, in the country, 
222-223. 

Competition, 100-101; free, 101. 

Conciliation, 82 f. 

Conference of governors, 73. (See 
Conservation.) 

Confucius, 11. 

Congress, and child labor, 85, 289- 
296; the Senate, 289; the House, 
290; general powers of, 292-294; 
sessions of, 294; organization of, 
294; officers of, 295; committees 
of, 295-296. (See Senate and 
House.) 

Congressional district, 290. 

Congressional Record, 294. 

Connecticut, 133, 251, 312, 330. 

Conservation of natural resources, 
65-74; meaning of, 65; attitude 
of early settlers toward, 65; re¬ 
sults of this attitude, 65-66; 
movement toward, 68; of forests 


548 


INDEX 


and water power, 68-69; of land, 
69-70; of minerals, 70-71; policy 
of, 71-74; needs, 72-73; ad¬ 
ministration of, 73-74. 

Consolidation of rural schools, 220- 
221 . 

Constitution, state, 303-306; 
United States, 273-279. 

Consumer, place of, 51. 

Consumers, cooperation among, 154. 

Consumer’s goods, 53. 

Consumption of goods, 49-54; de¬ 
fined, 51; kinds, 51; direct, 51; 
productive, 52; destructive, 52; 
waste, 52; and progress, 54. 

Contract labor, 390. 

Contracts, enforcement of, 99-100. 

Convention, nominating, 356-357. 

Coolidge, Calvin, 281, 465. 

Cooperation, 150-155; and profit- 
sharing, 150; consumers’, 151; 
in credit, 152; in marketing, 152- 
153; in production, 153; extent 
of in United States, 153-154; 
limits of, 154-155; benefits of, 
155; in colonial days, 238. 

Coordination, as a factor in produc¬ 
tion, 61. 

Copper, 17. 

Corporations, taxation of, 438-439. 

Corrupt-practices acts, 349. 

Cost of government, increasing, 429. 

County, courts, 318; government 
of, 329-330. 

Court of Claims, 319. 

Court of Industrial Relations, in 
Kansas, 83. 

Courts, federal, 296-299; state, 
317-322; county, 318. (See Fed¬ 
eral, State, District, and County 
Courts.) 

Covenants of the League of Nations. 
(See the Appendix.) 

Credit, defined, 120; nature of 


bank, 121-122; mobilization of, 
132-133. 

Credit and banking, 120-134. (See 
Banking.) 

Credit cooperation, 152. 

Crime, 399-410; among Negroes, 
229; power of Congress over, 293; 
nature of, 399; kinds of, 399-400; 
extent of, 400; causes of, 400- 
402; remedies, 402; punishments 
for, 405-410. 

Criminal law, 321-322. 

Criminal procedure, reform of, 404; 
in state courts, 322. 

Crusades, 237. 

Cumberland Falls, Ky., 69. 

Customs, social, 23. 

Czechoslovakia, 179. 

Dakotas, 331. 

Dalton plan in schools, 204 

Dayton, Ohio, 374. 

Deaf-mutes, 250-251; number of, 
250; training of, 251. 

Debs, Eugene, 172. 

Debts, international, 467. 

Declaration of Independence, 336. 

Decreasing cost, principle of, 418- 
419. (See Railroads.) 

Defectives, 249-256; types of, 249; 
blind, 249-250; deaf, 250-251; 
feeble-minded, 251, 254; epilep¬ 
tic, 254; insane, 255-256. 

Defects, of state government, 310; 
in legislative procedure, 366-367. 

Defense, power of Congress over, 
292. 

Demands of labor, 94-95. 

Democracy, and education, 199; 
direct, 376-382; and Public 
Opinion, 260-261. 

Democratic Party, 346, 347. 

Denmark, 152, 179. 

Density of population, 180. 


INDEX 


Denver, 408. 

Department of Agriculture, 44, 66, 
216-217; of Commerce, 288; of 
the Interior, 207; of Justice, 286; 
of Labor, 288-289; of the Navy, 
285-286; of State, 284; of the 
Treasury, 284-285; of War, 285. 

Dependency, 236-246; defined, 236; 
in Middle Ages, 236; and the 
urban neighborhood, 237-238; 
effect of the growth of industry 
upon, 238; in the United States, 
238; causes, 239-240; and alms¬ 
giving, 240-241; new ideals con¬ 
cerning, 242-243; treatment of, 
243-244; coordination in treat¬ 
ing, 244-245. 

Dependents, number of, 238. 

Deposit credit, inelasticity of, 124- 
126; elasticity of, 128-129. 

Destruction of goods, 52. 

Detroit, 133, 180, 227, 382. 

Dictatorship of the proletariat, 167- 
168. 

Diminishing utility, law of, 50. 

Diplomacy, 456-457. 

Diplomatic service, 280-281. 

Direct legislation, 379. 

Direct primary, 356-359; nature of, 
356; extent of, 357-358; advan¬ 
tages of, 358; objections to, 358- 
359; outlook for, 359. 

Disarmament, 465-466. 

Distribution, of the products of in¬ 
dustry, 107-112; the problem of, 
prior to the Industrial Revolu¬ 
tion, 107; effects of the Industrial 
Revolution upon, 107-108; sig¬ 
nificance of the entrepreneur in, 
108-109; process of, 109-112; 
determinants of the shares in, 112. 

District Attorney, 298. 

District courts, 297-298. 

District of Columbia, 292. 


549 

Division of labor, effect upon ex¬ 
change, 114. 

Divorce, tendencies, 191-192; laws, 
192-193; statistics, 191; among 
Jews, Catholics, and Protestants, 
192. (See Family .) 

Dix River power plant, 69. 

Domestication, of animals, 18; of 
plants, 19. 

Double taxation, 433-434. 

Dumping of foreign goods, 444, 448. 

Economic causes of dependency, 
239. 

Economic condition of Negroes, 228. 

Economics, defined, 35. 

Economy, family, 54. 

Education, 25; and the family, 194- 
195; meaning of, 198; and de¬ 
mocracy, 199; development of, 
199; school enrollment, 199-200, 
202-203; system of financing, 
200 -201; control of, 201; uni¬ 
form standards in, 201-202; pupil 
ability, 203-204; practical versus 
cultural, 205-206; vocational, 
206-207; federal encouragement 
of, 207-208; and progress, 209. 
(See School.) 

Efficiency, in industry, 143-144; in 
office, 366-374. 

Elasticity, of bank operations, 124; 
of deposit credit, 128-129; of 
currency, 129-130. 

Elections, 355-364; of the Presi¬ 
dent, 279; of governors, 306; 
problem of, 355; nominations for, 
355-357; direct primary, 357- 
359; ballots, 361-363; neglect of 
voting at, 363. 

Elkins Act, 420. 

Emancipation Proclamation, 226. 

Eminent domain, 277. 

Employers’ associations, 77-80. 


550 


INDEX 


Employment bureaus, 143. 

Engels, Frederick, 161. 

Engels’s Law, 54. 

England, 57, 151. 

Enrollment, school, 199-200, 202- 
203. 

Entrepreneur, in production, 61-62; 
in distribution, 108-109; receives 
profits, 111-112; defined, 115 f. 

Environment, economic, 41, 239, 
400-401; social, 239, 401. 

Epileptics, 254. 

Equipment for problems of human 
relationships, 33. 

Esthonia, 391. 

Europe, cooperation in, 151-154; 
immigration from, 388-390; na¬ 
tional ownership in, 421. 

Exchange, and the division of labor, 
114; and transportation, 114; 
and coordination, 115; and mid¬ 
dlemen, 115-116; and barter, 
116-117; and money, 117-118; 
and value and price, 118; be¬ 
tween countries, 442. 

Expansion of banking system, 130. 

Ex post facto legislation, 276. 

Extension courses, 209. 

Factors of production, 60-62; na¬ 
ture, 60; labor, 60; capital, 60- 
61; coordination, 61-62; govern¬ 
ment, 62. 

Factory system, effect upon home 
of, 186-187. 

Fall River, Mass., 180. 

Family, origin of, 24; significance 
of, 184; in the Middle Ages, 184- 
185; in modem times, 185; and 
the Industrial Revolution, 185- 
186; and the factory system, 186- 
187; and home-making, 187; dif¬ 
ficulties of home-making, 187- 
188; and the economic independ¬ 


ence of women, 188-189; and 
political emancipation of women, 
189; and individualism, 189-190; 
marriage tendencies, 190; mar¬ 
riage laws, 191; divorce tenden¬ 
cies, 191-192; divorce laws, 192- 
193; education and the, 194-195; 
and Public Opinion, 261-262. 

Farm loans, 217. 

Far West, county government in, 
329-330. 

Federal administration, 283-289; 
the Cabinet, 283-284; Depart¬ 
ment of State, 284; of the Treas¬ 
ury, 284-285; of War, 285; of the 
Navy, 285-286; of Justice, 286; 
of the Post Office, 286-287; of 
the Interior, 287; of Agriculture, 
287-288; of Commerce, 288; of 
Labor, 288-289; other boards and 
commissions, 289. 

Federal Board for Vocational Edu¬ 
cation, 207, 289. 

Federal Constitution, 273-279; de¬ 
fined, 273-274; framing of, 274; 
division of powers by, 274-275; 
interstate provisions, 275-276; 
rights under, 276-277; suprem¬ 
acy of, 277; development of, 277- 
279; text of. (See the Appendix.) 

Federal courts, 296-299; Supreme 
Court, 296; Circuit Courts, 296- 
297; District Courts, 297-298; 
judges and judicial agents, 298; 
interpretation by, 298-299; gen¬ 
eral policy of, 299; relation to 
state, 320. 

Federal Farm Board, 153, 289 

Federal Farm Loan Act, 131, 217. 

Federal government, 273-279. (See 
Federal Constitution, President, 
Federal Administration, Congress, 
Federal Courts.) 

Federal law, supremacy of, 277. 



INDEX 


Federal Radio Commission, 289. 

Federal Reserve Act, 127. 

Federal Reserve Board, 130, 289. 

Federal Reserve System, 127-131; 
elasticity under, 128-129; good 
features of, 130. 

Federal Tariff Commission, 289. 

Federal Trade Commission, 289, 
425. 

Feeble-minded, The, 203, 251. 

Fifteenth Amendment, 226. 

Finances in state governments, 304. 

Fitness for voting, 341. 

Five Year Plan in Russia, 169-170. 

Florida, 178, 312. 

Fordney-McCumber Tariff, 445. 

Foreign affairs, and the President, 
280-281; and Congress, 292. 
(See International Relations.) 

Foreign-born, in United States, 179; 
in cities, 180. 

Forests, in the United States, 44; 
destruction of, 66; conservation 
of, 66, 68-69; state, 68-69; 
bureau of, 69. 

Fourteenth Amendment, 226, 238. 

France, 152, 450, 461. 

Franchise, 351. 

Free trade, 442. (See Tariff.) 

Freedom, under capitalism, 101-102. 

Gallaudet College, 251. 

Gallaudet, Thomas H., 251. 

Galveston, Texas, 373. 

General property tax, 435-436. 

Geneva, 264, 461, 463. 

George, Henry, 157. 

Georgia, 178, 200, 202. 

Germany, 151, 179, 387-389, 449, 
461. 

Gerrymandering, 360-361. 

Gladstone, W. E., 98. 

Glass-Steagall Bill, 130. 

Goddard, Henry H., 254. 


551 

Goods, kinds of, 43; free and eco¬ 
nomic, 49. 

Government, origin of, 24; defined, 
36-37; in production, 62; and 
industry, 98-99; federal, 273- 
299; state, 303-323; and busi¬ 
ness, 412-426. (See Business.) 

Governor, 306-309; election of, 
306; term and salary of, 306; 
executive powers of, 306-307; 
legislative powers of, 307; ju¬ 
dicial powers of, 307-308; in¬ 
creasing powers of, 308; limita¬ 
tions upon, 308-309. 

Governors’ Conference, 73. 

Grand jury, 320, 322. 

Great Britain, 179, 387, 388, 461. 

Great Lakes, 72. 

Great Smoky Mountains, 68. 

Greece, 179. 

Grey, Sir Edward, 464. 

Grotius, Hugo, 457. 

Group life, 22-24. 

Groves, Harold M., 92. 

Habeas corpus, 276, 304, 307. 

Hague Conferences, 459-460. 

Hampton, 232. 

Harding, President, 371. 

Hartford, Conn., 251, 330. 

Haiiy, Valentin, 249. 

Hawaii, 287. 

Hawley-Smoot Tariff, 445, 449. 

Haywood, William D., 171. 

Health, in industry, 83; in rural 
areas, 219-220. 

Hepburn Law, 420. 

High school, enrollment, 199-200; 
costs, 200. 

History, defined, 34-35. 

Holding company, 423. 

Holland, 152. 

Home market argument in tariff dis¬ 
cussions, 446. 



552 


INDEX 


Home rule for counties, 333. 

Homogeneous grouping, 204. 

Honesty in office, 366-374. 

Honor system in prisons, 409. 

Hoover Dam, 70. 

Hoover, Herbert, 406, 463, 465. 

House of Representatives, 290-291; 
members, 290; special powers of, 
291. 

Human nature and war, 469. 

Hungary, 179. 

Hunting and fishing stage, 17-18. 

Idaho, 193, 338. 

Idiots, 203, 251. 

Illinois, 311, 312, 331, 370, 372. 

Illiteracy, defined, 199 f. 

Imbeciles, 203, 251. 

Immigrants, 387-397; number of in 
various years, 387-388; under 
quota laws, 391; distribution of, 
391-392; from Asia, 393-394; 
Americanizing the, 395, 397; atti¬ 
tude toward, 395-397. 

Immigration, 387-396; and racial 
elements, 387; extent of, 387- 
388; the “old,” 388-389; the 
“new,” 389-390; laws, 390-391; 
under quota laws, 391; economic 
effects of, 392-393; social effects 
of, 393-394; future of, 394-395; 
attitude toward, 395-397. 

Impeachment, as a method of pop¬ 
ular control, 377; process of, 
291. 

Implied powers, 293. 

Imprisonment, substitutes for, 406- 
407. 

Income, use of, 144-145. 

Income tax, 436-437. 

Indeterminate sentence, 408-409. 

Indian, contrasted with the Negro, 
227-228. 

Indiana, 171, 331. 


Indianapolis, 407. 

Indictment, 322. 

Individual, The, and Public Opin¬ 
ion, 267-268. 

Individualism, exaggeration of, 189- 
190. 

Industrial reform, 136-146; by se¬ 
curing justice, 137-138; by redis¬ 
tributing wealth, 138-139; by 
increasing wages, 140; by in¬ 
creasing the demand for labor, 
140-142; by decreasing the labor 
supply, 142-143; by increasing 
efficiency, 143-144; by wise use 
of income, 144-145. 

Industrial Revolution, effects of, 
58, 76, 83; upon production, 61; 
upon distribution, 107-108; upon 
family, 185-186; upon medieval 
neighborhood, 237. 

Industrial Workers of the World. 
(See I. W. W. ) 

Industry, nature of, 41-47; and 
health, 83-84; risks of, 88; ex¬ 
changing the products of, 114- 
118; distributing the income of, 
107-112; under bolshevism, 169- 
170. 

Inelasticity, of deposit credit, 124- 
125; of currency, 126. 

Infant industries argument in tariff 
discussions, 445-446, 448-449. 

Information, method of acquiring:, 
26-27. 

Inheritance tax, 437-438. 

Initiative, 378. 

Injunction, in labor disputes, 81. 

Insane, 255-256. 

Institutions, nature and develop¬ 
ment of social, 21-26; family, 24; 
government, 24; economic, 25; 
school, 25; church, 25-26; preva¬ 
lence of, 26. 

Insurance. (See Social insurance.) 


INDEX 


553 


Intelligence quotient, 203-204, 251. 

Interest, 109; high rates on small 
loans, 132. 

Interior, Department of, 287. 

International law, 457-458. 

International relations, 453-469; 
the problem, 453-454; the world 
situation, 454-455; diplomacy, 
456-457; international law, 457- 
458; war, 458; attempts at world 
peace, 459; the Hague Confer¬ 
ences, 459-460; defects of Hague 
Tribunal, 460; the League of Na¬ 
tions, 460-463; the United States 
and the League, 463-464; World 
Court, 464-465; disarmament, 
465-466; outlawing war, 466; in¬ 
ternational debts, 467; backward 
countries, 467-468; mandates, 
467-478; tariffs, 468; human 
nature, 468-469. 

Interstate Commerce Commission, 
351, 420. 

Interstate relations, 274-276. 

Ireland, 387-388. 

Irish Free State, 179. 

Iron, discovery of, 17; conserva¬ 
tion of, 67. 

Isolation of rural life, 221-222. 

Italy, 152, 179, 387, 450, 461. 

I. W. W., 171. 

Japan, 461. 

Japanese immigration, 394. 

Jersey City, 400. 

Judges, federal, 296, 298; state, 
319-320. 

Judiciary. (See Courts.) 

Jury, grand, 320, 322; trial or petit, 
321-322. 

Justice, in industry, 137; Depart¬ 
ment of, 286, 399. 

Justice of the peace, 318. 

Juvenile Court, 319. 


Kallikak family, 254. 

Kansas, 331, 340. 

Kansas Court of Industrial Rela¬ 
tions, 83. 

Kellogg, Frank B., 464. 

Kellogg Treaties, 466. 

Kentucky, 156. 

Keokuk plant, 69. 

Kerensky, Alexander, 165, 168. 

Knowledge, use of, 27; methods of 
spreading, 27; advancement of, 
27. 

Labor, in production, 60; and capi¬ 
tal, 76; demand for, 140-141; 
decreasing supply of, 142-144; 
Department of, 288-289. 

Labor legislation, obstacles to, 92- 
93. 

Labor organizations, rise of, 77; de¬ 
mands of, 78-79. 

Laborer, receives wages, 110. 

Lame duck amendment, 278. 

Land, defined, 60; not capital, 61; 
conservation of, 69-70. 

Language, development of, 19-21; 
as a means of preserving culture, 
20; as a means of cooperation, 21. 

Large scale combination. (See 
Trust.) 

Law, and the family, 191-192; 
and Public Opinion, 260; making 
a state, 314-315; a local, 314 f; 
common, 317; statute, 317; 
sources of, 317-318. 

League of Nations, 460-461; organ¬ 
ization, 461; aims, 461-462; 
status of, 462-463; and the 
United States, 463-464; Cov¬ 
enant of. (See the Appendix.) 

Legal aid society, 404-405. 

Legislation, governor’s part in, 315; 
defects in state, 315-316; reform 
in, 316. 



554 


INDEX 


Legislative procedure, 366-368; de¬ 
fects of, 366-367; committee sys¬ 
tem, 367. 

Legislative reference bureau, 316, 
368. 

Legislatures, 311-316; structure of, 
311-312; representation in, 312; 
membership, 312-313; organiza¬ 
tion of, 313; powers of, 313-314; 
legislation of, 314-315; log-rolling 
in, 316; reforms in, 316. 

Lenin, N., 168-170. 

Lexington, Ky., 373. 

Limitation of armaments, 465-466. 

Lincoln, Abraham, 226. 

Literacy test, 339. 

Lithuania, 179. 

Loan sharks, 131-132. 

Lobbying, in state legislatures, 316. 

Lockout, 80. 

Log-rolling, 368-369. 

London Naval Conference, 466. 

Long ballot, 361. 

Los Angeles, 133, 227, 380, 382, 400. 

Lowell, A. L., 346. 

Lowell, Mass., 180. 

Luxuries, 53. 

Lynching of Negroes, 230. 

Magna Charta, 402. 

Maine, 27. 

Majority representation, 355, 360. 

Making a living, old way, 57-58; 
new way, 58. 

Males and females, ratio of, 181. 

Malthus, Thomas R., 177. 

Man as a problem-solver, 16. 

Manchuria, 462. 

Mandates, 467-468. 

Mann-Elkins Act, 420. 

Manufacturing in the United 
States, 45. 

Marginal utility, law of, 51. 

Market, stock, 132-133. 


Marketing, needs of farmer in, 218. 

Marriage, tendencies, 190; laws, 
190-192. (See Family.) 

Marx, Karl, 161-162. 

Massachusetts, 69, 75, 87, 180, 311, 
330, 369-370. 

Mayor, 327-328. 

Mayor-council plan of municipal 
government, 326-328. 

Mediation, 82 f. 

Mental defectives, 251-256. 

Messages to Congress, 282. 

Mexico, 42, 391, 462. 

Michigan, 178, 306, 331, 338. 

Middle Ages, family in, 184-185; 
neighborhood in, 236. 

Middle West, 331. 

Middleman, distinguished from the 
business man and the entrepre¬ 
neur, 115; importance of, 115- 
116; not always socially neces¬ 
sary, 116. 

Military Academy, 285. 

Military argument in tariff discus¬ 
sion, 449. 

Minerals, in the United States, 44; 
conservation of, 70-71. 

Minimum wage, defined, 87; laws, 
87; arguments for, 87; against, 
87-88. 

Minneapolis, 153. 

Minnesota, 75, 331, 338. 

Minority, representation of the, 
360-361; and Public Opinion, 
265-266. 

Mississippi, State of, 227. 

Mississippi River, 42, 45, 68, 70, 72; 
floods, 52. 

Missouri, 132, 306, 312, 331. 

Money, nature and function of, 117- 
118; and value, 118; and price, 
118. 

Monopoly, of natural resources, 
67-68; nature of, 413; types, 


INDEX 


555 


413-414; basis of natural monop¬ 
oly, 414-415; regulation of, 415. 

Monroe Doctrine, 463. 

Montana, 178, 180. 

Moron, 203, 251. 

Moving picture, Public Opinion and 
the, 263. 

Municipal administration. (See 
Municipal government.) 

Municipal government, 326-329; 
types of, 326; city council, 326- 
327; the mayor, 327-328; ad¬ 
ministrative officers, 328-329. 

Municipal ownership, arguments 
for, 415-416; arguments against, 
416; conditions of, 417. 

Muscle Shoals, 69. 

National administration. (See Fed¬ 
eral administration.) 

National Advisory Committee, 208. 

National Association of Manufac¬ 
turers, 78. 

National banking system, 123. 

National Commission on the Re¬ 
organization of Secondary Educa¬ 
tion, 198. 

National Conservation Association, 
73. 

National defense, 292. 

National forests, 68. 

National ownership, arguments for, 
421; objections urged against, 
421-422. 

Natural resources, defined, 43; of 
the United States, 44; and the 
early settler, 65; depletion of, 
65-67; monopoly of, 67-68; con¬ 
servation of, 65-74. (See Con¬ 
servation.) 

Natural right, doctrine of, 336-337. 

Naturalization, Bureau of, 288. 

Nature, defined, 60; a factor in 
production, 60. 


Naval Academy, 286. 

Navy, Department of, 285-286. 

Nebraska, 306. 

Necessaries, 53. 

Negro, 226-233; origin, 226; rise 
of the problem of, 226; numbers 
and distribution of, 227; adapta¬ 
bility of, 227-228; progress of, 
228; suffrage, 229, 338-339; 
crime, 229; present condition of, 
228-230; lynchings of, 231; need 
of program for, 230-231; illiter¬ 
acy, 228, 231; education of, 231- 
232; economic adjustment of the, 
232; cooperation in the problem 
of, 232-233; promise of, 233. 

Negro suffrage, 229, 338-339. 

Neighborhood, in the Middle Ages, 
236; in modern times, 237-238. 

Nevada, 27, 180, 193, 306, 381. 

Newark, 180. 

New Economic Policy in Russia, 
169. 

New England, foreign-born in, 179; 
town government in, 330-333, 
339. 

New Hampshire, 305. 

New Harmony, 171. 

New Haven, 330. 

New Jersey, 180, 306, 311, 331, 370. 

New York, 69, 91, 180, 192, 200, 
306, 311, 312, 316, 331, 372. 

New York City, stock exchange in, 
133; concentration of money in, 
125, 127; Negroes in, 227; men¬ 
tioned, 408. 

Nominating convention, 356-357. 

Nominations, and the political 
party, 348; by caucus, 355-356; 
by convention, 356-357; by di¬ 
rect primary, 357; by petitions, 
359. 

Norris, Frank W., 278. 

North Dakota, 134, 306. 


556 


INDEX 


Northwest Ordinance, 273. 

Norway, 179. 

Observers, unofficial, 463. 
Occupational diseases, 88. 
Occupations of the American people, 
43-44. 

Office of Education, 207, 287. 

Ohio, 9, 311, 312, 331. 

Ohio River, 331. 

Old age, insurance against, 91; pen¬ 
sions, 91. 

Open shop, 80. 

Ordinances, city, 327. 

Oregon, 306, 340, 379, 380, 381, 429. 
Organization of Congress, 294-295. 
Osage River, power plant on, 69. 
Owen, Robert, 170-171. 

Pacific, 42, 394. 

Panic of 1907, 126-127. 

Pardon, by the President, 282. 

Paris, 461. 

Party. (See Political Party.) 
Pastoral age, 18-19. 

Patents, 287. 

Pauperism, 236, 237. 

Payne-Aldrich Act, 444-445. 
Pennsylvania, foreign-born in, 179- 
180; mentioned, 331, 332. 
Pennsylvania type of county gov¬ 
ernment, 332-333. 

Penology, changing ideals in, 405- 
410. 

Personal efficiency, and industrial 
reform, 143-144. 

Petition, nomination by, 359. 
Philadelphia, 21. 

Picketing, 80. 

Piece-work, 79. 

Plato, 161. 

Plurality, 355, 360. 

Poland, 179. 

Political boss, 348, 356. 


Political party, 344-353; nature of, 
344; development of, 344-345; 
organization of, 345; services of, 
345-347; abuse of, 347; cam¬ 
paigns of, 347-348; domination 
by, 348-349; abuses by, 351-352. 

Poll tax, 430. 

Popular control, and democracy, 
376; by refusal to reelect, 376; 
by removal, 376; by impeach¬ 
ment, 377; by amendment, 377; 
by initiative, 378; by referen¬ 
dum, 378-380; by recall, 380- 
382. 

Population, increase in, 42; of the 
United States, 42, 177-181; in¬ 
crease of, 178; racial elements in, 
179-180; distribution of, ISO- 
181; effect of environment on, 
181; density of, 180; rural and 
urban, 214-215; school, 199-200, 
202-203; of the world, 454. 

Postmaster-General, 286-287. 

Post Office Department, 286-287. 

Poverty, defined, 236; extent, 238- 
239; causes, 239-240; alms¬ 
giving, 240-241; ideals about, 
242-243; treatment of, 244-245; 
and crime, 400-401. (See De¬ 
pendency.) 

Power plants, sites of, 69. 

Powers, separation of governmental, 
274-275, 304. 

Preferential voting, 360. 

Preparation for home-making, lack 
of, 187. 

President, 279-283; election of, 
279-280; status of, 279-280; war 
powers of, 280; and foreign af¬ 
fairs, 280-281; administrative 
powers of, 281-282; legislative 
powers of, 282-283. 

Press, Public Opinion and the, 263- 
264. 


INDEX 


557 


Price, defined, 118; relation to 
value, 118. 

Primary. (See Direct Primary.) 

Prison population, 400. 

Private property, 99. 

Private rights, under the Constitu¬ 
tion, 276-277. 

Privileges, of legislators, 313; of 
voting, 339, 341. 

Probate courts, 319. 

Problems, defined, 3; variety and 
extent of, 3-4; solution of, 4-5; 
relevant parts of, 6; kinds of, 
6-8; solved and unsolved, 6-8; 
point of view in regard to, 8; for 
students, 8-12; in school, 8-12; 
process of solving, 11-12; govern¬ 
mental, 12-13; in American De¬ 
mocracy, 12-14; equipment for 
solving social, 33-34; of labor, 
76-95; of industrial reform, 104- 
105; of distribution, 107-108; of 
rural life, 213-214;. of elections, 
355; of international relations, 
453-469. 

Procedure, in federal courts, 296- 
299; in state courts, 321-322; re¬ 
form of, 404. 

Production of goods, 57-63; de¬ 
fined, 58-59; complexity of, 59; 
factors of, 60-62. 

Profit sharing, 148-150; nature of, 
148-149; limits of, 149-150. 

Profits to the entrepreneur, 111-112. 

Program of industrial reform, 136- 
146. 

Progress, and education, 209. 

Propaganda and Public Opinion, 
263, 265. 

Proportional representation, 361. 

Prosecuting attorney, 322. 

Protective tariff, 443. 

Public Defender, 403. 

Public Domain, extent of, 70. 


Public Opinion, 259-268; nature of, 
259; importance of, 259-260; 
and law, 260; in a democracy, 
260-261; development of, 261; 
and the home, 261-262; and the 
school, 262; and the church, 262; 
and the theatre, 263; and the 
press, 263-264; and the radio, 
264; growing importance of, 264; 
regulation of, 264-265; and free¬ 
dom, 265-266; guidance of, 266- 
267; and the individual, 267-268. 

Public revenue, sources of, 430- 
435. 

Public utilities, regulation of, 415. 

Punishments, for criminals, 405- 
406; individualized treatment, 
406; substitutes for, 406-407; 
for mental defectives, 407; for 
juvenile offenders, 407-408; in¬ 
determinate sentences, 408-409; 
modern prisons, 409-410. 

Pupil ability, 203-204. 

Quota tariffs, 450. 

Race mixture, Negroes and whites, 
229. 

Radio, and public opinion, 264; 
number of, 264; Act, 426. 

Railroads, in the United States, 418; 
decreasing cost in operating, 418- 
419; evils in development of, 419; 
state regulation of, 419-420; 
federal regulation of, 420-421; 
arguments for national ownership 
of, 421; arguments against, 421- 
422. 

Readjustment, economic and social, 
193-194. 

Recall, 380-382. 

Reclamation Act, 70. 

Red Cross, 462. 

Rediscounting, 129. 


558 


INDEX 


Redistribution of unearned wealth, 
137-138. 

Referendum, 378-380. 

Reformation, The, 240. 

Reforms, industrial, 136-146; pro¬ 
posed, 157-171; of municipal 
government, 372-374. 

Relief agencies, 246. 

Religion, adherents of each, 454. 

Renaissance, 237. 

Rent, 109. 

Representation, of the majority, 
355, 360; of the minority, 360, 
361; proportional, 361. 

Representative democracy. (See 
Democracy.) 

Representatives in Congress, 289- 
290. 

Reprieve by the President, 282. 

Republican party, 346, 347, 449. 

Reserve fund, 120. 

Revenue tariff, 443. 

Revenues and expenditures, power 
of Congress over, 291-292. 

Revisor, in Wisconsin, 316. 

Rhode Island, 180. 

Rights of the individual, 276-277. 

Rivers, navigable, 45. 

Rochdale Society of Equitable 
Pioneers, 151. 

Rockefeller, J. D., 422-423. 

Rocky Mountains, 45. 

Roosevelt Dam, 70. 

Roosevelt, Theodore, 68, 213, 267, 
460. 

Root, Elihu, 464. 

Rules, Committee on, 479-480. 

Runs on banks, 127. 

Rural life, 213-223; importance of, 
213; rural problem defined, 214; 
origin of rural problem, 214; 
migration from country, 214; 
reasons for migration, 215; effects 
of this migration, 215-216; back 


to the land movement, 216; and 
the Department of Agriculture, 
216-217; Federal Farm Loan 
Act, 217-218; marketing, 218; 
other economic needs of the 
farmer, 219; health, 219-220; 
school, 220-221; and the church, 
221; and isolation, 222; com¬ 
munity spirit, 222-223. 

Rural local government, 329-333. 

Russell Sage Foundation, 132. 

Russia, bolshevism in, 165-170; 
immigrants from, 179, 387; men¬ 
tioned, 462. 

Sabotage, 171. 

St. Louis, 190, 192. 

San Francisco, 133, 180. 

Savings banks, 120. 

School, 198-209; origin of, 25; mean¬ 
ing, 198; development of, 199; 
attendance, 199-200; 202; financ¬ 
ing, 200-201; uniform stand¬ 
ards, 201-202; pupil ability in, 
203-204; individual differences, 
203-204; merits of, 205; voca¬ 
tional education, 206-207; federal 
relations to, 207-208; limitations 
of, 208; use of school plant, 208- 
209; rural, 220-221; and Public 
Opinion, 262; and Americaniza¬ 
tion, 396-397. (See Education.) 

Science, beginnings of, 19. 

Seager, Henry Rogers, 159. 

Seattle, 382. 

Secretary of State, of the United 
States, 284; of the states, 309. 

Selectmen, 330. 

Self-sufficing argument in tariff 
discussions, 449. 

Senate, 289-291; composition of, 
289; special powers of, 290-291. 

Senators, term and qualifications of, 
289. 


INDEX 


Separation of powers, 274-275. 

Sessions of Congress, 294. 

Sharing the products of industry, 
107-112. (See Distribution.) 

Sherman Anti-trust Act, 424-425. 

Short ballot, 361-363. 

Sickness insurance, 91. 

Single tax, 157-160; defined, 157; 
arguments for, 158-159; objec¬ 
tions to, 159-160. 

Sixteenth Amendment, 277. 

Small loans, 131-132. 

Smith-Hughes Act, 207. 

Social causes, of dependency, 239; 
of crime, 401. 

Social habits, defined, 23. 

Social institutions, defined, 23; na¬ 
ture and development of, 21-26; 
family, 24; government, 24; eco¬ 
nomic, 25; school, 25; church, 
25-26; prevalence of, 26. 

Social insurance, 89-92; principle 
of, 89-92; against accidents, 90; 
against sickness, 91; against old 
age, 91; against unemployment, 
91-92. 

Social problems, forecast of, 145- 
146. 

Social sciences, 32-38; defined, 34; 
history, 34-35; economics, 35-36; 
sociology, 36; government, 36- 
37; unity of the, 37. 

Social service, 242-246. 

Social Studies. (See Social Sciences.) 

Socialism, defined, 160-161; and 
anarchy, 161; influence of Marx 
on, 161-162; and the theory of 
surplus value, 162; and class 
struggle, 163-164; defects of, 164. 

Society defined, 22. 

Sociology defined, 36. 

South, county government in, 329. 

South America, 42. 

South Carolina, 133, 192. 


559 

Southern University Race Commis¬ 
sion, 231. 

Soviets, Russian, 166. (See also the 
Glossary.) 

Spain, 363. 

Speaker of the House of Repre¬ 
sentatives, 295. 

Special and local laws, defined, 314. 

Specific tariff, 443. 

Spoils system, 311, 349-353. 

Standard of living, 53-54. 

Standard Oil Company, 425. 

Standardization of educational facil¬ 
ities, 201-202. 

Standards, school, 201-202. 

State, Department of, 284. 

State administration, 309-311; of¬ 
ficers, 309; boards and commis¬ 
sions, 310; defects of, 310-311; 
state civil service, 311; reorgani¬ 
zation of, 369-370. 

State constitutions, 303-306; na¬ 
ture of, 303-304; provisions of, 
304-305; amendments to, 305- 
306. 

State courts, 317-322; justice, 318; 
county, 318; circuit, 318; su¬ 
preme, 318-319; officials of, 319- 
320; relation to federal, 320; pro¬ 
cedure in, 321-322; jurisdiction 
of, 321-322. 

State finances, 304. 

State government, 303-323; powers 
of, 303; framework of, 304; 
finances of, 304; functions of, 
304-305; governor, 306-309; ad¬ 
ministration, 309-311. 

State judges, 319-320. 

State law, the making of a, 314-315. 

State legislatures, 311-316; struc¬ 
ture, 311-312; representation in, 
312; members of, 312-313; or¬ 
ganization of, 313; powers of, 
313-314; the making of a law in, 


560 


INDEX 


314-315; defects of, 315-316; 
reforms in, 316; lobbying in, 316. 

Status of the recall, 381-382. 

Statute law, 317. 

Stimson, Henry L., 463. 

Stock exchange, described, 132- 
133. 

Stock market, 132-133. 

Stocks and bonds, 132-133. 

Stone age, 16-17. 

Strike-breakers, 81. 

Strikes, 80; number of, 81. 

Subjects, school, 32-33; defined, 
32. 

Suffrage, 335-342; significance of, 
335; in seventeenth century, 335- 
336; as a natural right, 336-337; 
extension of, 337-338; as a right 
or privilege, 339, 341; movement, 
339-340; restrictions on, 340; 
status of, 340-341; fitness for, 
341; problem of, 342; Negro, 229. 

Superior courts, 318. 

Supremacy of federal law, 277. 

Supreme Court, State, 318-319. 

Supreme Court of the United States, 
and child labor, 85; details about, 
296; judges of, 298; decisions by, 
297-298; policy of, 299. 

Surplus value, theory of, 162. 

Surrogates’ courts, 319. 

Sweden, 179. 

Syndicalism, 165. 

Taft, William Howard, 371, 403. 

Tariff, 442-450; nature of, 442- 
443; kinds of, 443; protection, 
443-444; history of, 444-445; 
compromise nature of, 445; argu¬ 
ments for and against, 445-447; 
and the World War, 447-449; 
trend toward higher, 449-450; 
needs, 450-451; and war, 468. 

Taussig, Frank W., 89, 94, 447. 


Tax, inheritance, 138. 

Taxation, 429-439; increase in, 429; 
sources of, 430; lack of a system 
of, 430-431; limitations on, 431; 
defects in levying, 431-432; of 
intangible property, 432-433; 
double, 433-434; ideals in, 434; 
essentials of, 434-435; of general 
property, 435-436; of land, 436; 
of income, 436-437; of inherit¬ 
ance, 437-438; of corporations, 
438-439. 

Taxes, government’s share in distri¬ 
bution of, 111. 

Tenancy, in rural districts, 219. 

Tennessee, 68, 75. 

Tenth Amendment, 275. 

Territories, power of Congress over, 
293. 

Texas, 70, 306, 373. 

Theatre, the, and Public Opinion, 
263. 

Thirteenth amendment, 226, 338. 

Thrift, 142-143. 

Town government, 330. 

Township government, 331-333. 

Trade, domestic and foreign, 46. 

Trade agreement, 82. 

Trade union, rise of the, 77; what 
it wants, 78-79; weapons of, 
158-159. 

Transportation, in the United 
States, 45; and exchange, 61-62. 

Treasury, Department of, 284-285. 

Trial procedure in the state courts, 
321-322. 

Trotzky, L., 168. 

Trust, origin of the, 422-423; mean¬ 
ing, 423; growth of, 423-424; 
abuses of, 424; Sherman Act, 

424- 425; other legislation of, 

425- 426. 

Turkey, 462. 

Tuskegee Institute, 232. 


INDEX 


Underwood-Simmons Act, 445. 

Unearned increment, and the single 
tax, 160. 

Unearned wealth, redistribution of, 
137-138. 

Unemployable, The, 88. 

Unemployment, in the United 
States, 88-89; causes and reme¬ 
dies, 89; insurance, 91-92. 

United States, favorable location of, 
42; population of, 42-43; wealth 
of, 43; occupations of the people 
of, 43-44; natural resources of, 
43-44; census of, 84; marriage 
and divorce in, 190-193. 

United States Steel Corporation, 423. 

United States Tariff Commission, 
450. 

Urban congestion, 393. 

U. S. S. R. (Union off Socialist 
Soviet Republics), 166, 169. (See 
Bolshevism.) 

Utah, 202, 338. 

Utility, defined, 49; elementary, 49; 
form, place, and time, 49-50; law 
of diminishing, 50; law of mar¬ 
ginal, 51. 

Value, defined, 118; and price, 118. 

Van Hise, C. R., 68. 

Verdict of a jury, 322. 

Vested interests argument in tariff 
discussion, 447. 

Veto power, of President, 283; of 
governor, 307. 

Vice President of the United States, 
295. 

Vocational education, 143, 206-207. 

Voting, qualifications for, 340; neg¬ 
lect of, 340-341. 

Wages, 110; why sometimes low, 
139-140; remedy for low, 140; 
and the tariff, 446-447. 


561 

Wages argument in tariff discus¬ 
sions, 446-447. 

Wants, economic, 50-51. 

War, effect upon dependency, 240; 
cost of, 240, 458; Department of, 
285; outlawing of, 466. 

War powers of the President, 280. 

Washington, Booker T., 232. 

Washington Conference on Limita¬ 
tion of Armaments, 465. 

Washington, George, 274. 

Washington, State of, 340. 

Waste, 52-53. 

Water power, conservation of, 
68-69. 

Wealth, of the United States, 42; 
of other countries, 42; unearned, 
137-138; redistribution of, 138. 

Weather Bureau, work of, 70. 

West, settlement of, 65; arid land 
in, 70; government of counties in, 
329-330. 

West Point, 285. 

Wickersham Commission, 406. 

Wider use of school plant, 208-209. 

Wilson, Woodrow, 273, 371, 460, 
461, 463. 

Winnetka plan in schools, 204. 

Wisconsin, 92, 311, 316, 331, 372. 

Woman suffrage, 340. 

Woman Suffrage Association, 340. 

Women, economic status of, 188- 
189; political status of, 189. 

Women in industry, number of, 
85-86; wages of, 86; legislation 
affecting, 86-87. 

Work, why engaged in, 57. 

Workmen’s compensation laws, 90. 

World or Great War, 447-448, 458, 
460, 465. 

Wyoming, 71, 180, 338. 


Yonkers, N. Y., 200. 





































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